Irish Conservatives, Conditional Unionism, and Contractarian Thought

This chapter examines the complex evolution of Irish Tory political thought during the 1830s and 1840s, revealing a more fluid and conditional unionism than traditional narratives suggest. Following the loss of their power base with the dissolution of the Irish Parliament in 1801, Irish Tories struggled to define their role in the new constitutional order, oscillating between staunch support for the Union and moments of profound disillusionment. The chapter analyses how figures like Sir Samuel Ferguson and contributors to the Dublin University Magazine articulated a distinctively Irish conservative vision that sought to reconcile traditional Protestant Ascendancy values with the realities of post-emancipation Ireland. Some Tories even briefly embraced the idea of restoring an Irish parliament as they witnessed the British government’s catastrophic failure of governance during the Famine. The chapter demonstrates how Irish Tory thought evolved from unconditional unionism to a more pragmatic position that viewed the Union as contingent upon its ability to deliver good government for Ireland, challenging the monolithic portrayal of conservatism in this period.