William Smith O’Brien’s Hungarian Journey
William Smith O’Brien’s Hungarian Journey

Summary/Abstract: One hundred and fifty years ago, in the summer of 1861 William Smith O’Brien, one time Irish MP at Westminster spent three weeks in Hungary, recording almost every day of his visit in his Journal. He was a leading member of the Young Irelanders. In the summer of 1848 he led a rebellion against the English authorities. This ended in failure, and he was arrested on 15 August 1848, and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. Because he was an aristocrat, and a member of the famous O’Brien clan, who could trace their lineage to Brian Boru, the 11th century king of Ireland, Queen Victoria in 1849 ordered the sentence of death to be commuted to transportation and exile for life. In the summer of that year O’Brien was sent to Tasmania and remained there until a pardon was granted to him in 1854.

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