Republicanism in Jamaica required for independence, the popularity of the Royal Family amongst Jamaicans, and tendencies towards Anglophilia among the political elites. The first Jamaican prime minister to make steps towards a republic was Michael Manley, whose People's National Party (PNP) came to power at the 1972 general election. His government established a commission into constitutional reform in 1975, and in July 1977, following a march to commemorate the Morant Bay rebellion, Manley announced that Jamaica would become a republic by 1981. However, his government was defeated at the 1980 general election by the more conservative Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), led by Edward
Irish people in Jamaica consist of Irish Papists" who he said had "been pouring in upon us in such sholes as of late years". In the mid-18th century, Irish native names such as O'Hara and O'Connor were prominent, as well as Old English families like Talbot and Martin. Names present in 1837, recorded during the compensation hearings, include Walsh, O'Meally, O'Sullivan, Burke, Hennessy, Boyle, Tierney, Geoghagan, Dillon. The Irish Gaelic language poet Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin wrote his only English-language work in Port Royal, Jamaica while serving on an English naval vessel. Irish people in Jamaica Irish people in Jamaica or Irish Jamaicans, are