William Smith O'Brien

William Smith O'Brien (; 17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) an Irish nationalist Member of Parliament (MP) and a leader of the Young Ireland movement. He also encouraged the use of the Irish language. He was convicted of sedition for his part in the Young Irelander "Famine Rebellion" of 1848 but his sentence of death was commuted to deportation to Van Diemen's Land.  In 1854, he was released on the condition of exile from Ireland, and he lived in Brussels for two years. In 1856 Smith O'Brien was pardoned and returned to Ireland, but he was never active again in politics.  At one point he was a member of the British Parliament. Later on he was a nationalist and leader of the Young Ireland movement and led a rebellion against British rule in the 1840s during the Potato Famine. He was convicted of treason, a felony, and could have been executed, but he was exiled to Van Diemen's Land instead. In 1856, he was pardoned and allowed to return.Woodham-Smith, Cecil The Great Hunger: Ireland 1845-1849 Harper and Row 1962

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Category:1803 births
Category:1864 deaths
Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:British Anglicans
Category:Members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Category:Irish politicians
Category:People from County Clare
Category:Prisoners sentenced to death