Constables and Tithe Arrears
Daniel O’Connell remained the central popular political figure. His influence rested not simply on speeches at Westminster but on a formidable Catholic electoral organisation, sustained by local committees and clergy. The franchise was narrow and property-based, but election contests involved far more than the people entitled to cast ballots. Priests, tenants, landlords and crowds all understood that a parliamentary vote could measure the balance of local authority.