In this episode, Phil Tinline asks Professor Marianne Elliott to tell the story of Daniel O'Connell's long struggle in the early 19th century to free Catholics from old laws which stopped them becoming going to university or participating fully in British public life, culminating in the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829. Siobhain McDonagh MP reflects on what O'Connell's battle means to her, and explains why she campaigned to lift a restriction left over from the 1820s that remained in law throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

First broadcast in 2019.

Producer: Phil Tinline Show less