Irish Radicalism and the Roman Catholic Church in Quebec and Ireland, 1833-1834: O'callaghan and O'connell Compared‪.‬

Introduction Recent historical studies on the Rebellion in the Canadas suggest that we need to look more closely at the crisis of 1837-38 and the years preceding it, as a "complex series of contingent events" rather than a one-dimensional act of criminal revolt. Historian Alan Greer maintains we can do this if we situate our historiography both in the microscopic context of the circumstances as well as in the larger international currents of the times. The latter, Greer says, will help us build some comparative framework within which to "construct an integrated account of the Canadian Rebellion" in both Upper and Lower Canada.(1) Greer observes: "Ireland provides a particularly striking parallel in many respects, and the Patriots were well aware of this connection; Papineau was proud to be known as the `O'Connell of Canada.' "(2)