Young Irelanders: Exiles in Paradise

Introducing the Young Irelanders

Journey of the Free Irelanders from Ireland to Van Diemen's Land 1848 - 1856

By the end of 1849 the Young Ireland movement in Ireland was in disarray. Many of the most important Young Irelanders either had been arrested or had fled to Europe or America to evade arrest. By the time the fifteen Young Irelanders were incarcerated in Van Diemen's Land, some of the most important members of the movement were scattered around the globe. It was these individuals, most particularly those exiles and Young Ireland sympathisers in America, who conspired to execute the liberation of the Young Irelanders leaders from Van Diemen's Land.