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Allegiance and Illusion: Queen Victoria’s Irish Visit of 1849
Author(s) -
Loughlin James
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.12
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1468-229X
pISSN - 0018-2648
DOI - 10.1111/1468-229x.00238
Subject(s) - allegiance , irish , loyalty , queen (butterfly) , famine , history , law , sociology , political science , politics , philosophy , hymenoptera , linguistics , botany , biology
This article examines Queen Victoria’s first visit to Ireland in 1849. Taking place in the wake of the Great Famine, the occasion was, nevertheless, a great popular success and raised enduring expectations about inculcating loyalty to the Union among Irish Catholics. Through empirical analysis informed by insights drawn from studies of the social function of public ritual, this article will attempt to assess the visit’s significance, especially the extent to which it evidenced authentic loyalty, and whether it deserved to be regarded as the potential harbinger of a loyal and Unionist Ireland.