Ireland during Age of Revolution

• George III• Protestant Ascendancy• Penal Laws• Grattan’s Parliament • France and America• United Irishmen 1791

– Wolfe Tone– McCracken

• Catholic Emancipation

18th Century Ireland

• Revolutions in France and America inspired Theobald Wolfe Tone

• 18th Century Ireland religion very important

• Catholics, Presbyterians and Anglicans (Church of Ireland)

Catholics

• 75% of Irish• Lost their land during

Plantations• New Protestant settlers

brought in the Penal Laws to stop Catholics regaining land and power

• Penal Laws:– Hard to buy land– Engage in trade– Get educated– No vote – No government jobs

Presbyterians

• 10% of Irish• Many descended from Scots who came during Plantations in Ulster• Mostly farmers and businessmen from Ulster• English government didn’t trust them as not in official church• Also could not sit in parliament or get government jobs

Anglicans (Church of Ireland)

• 15% Anglicans • Descended from English planters• Official church• Special Privileges• Trinity College only allowed Anglicans• Only Anglicans could get government jobs and sit in parliament • But divided:

– Protestant Ascendancy owned all land and controlled all the jobs

– Most Anglicans had little wealth or power. Wolfe Tone belonged to this group.

Ireland in 1780s

• Like America it was a British colony

• King George III ruled• Also an Irish parliament whose

members were chosen by the Protestant Ascendancy

• Poynings Law:– All laws had to be

approved by the King and his ministers

The Volunteers and Grattan’s Parliament

• When France went to war on the side of the Americans the Ascendancy feared French might invade Ireland

• They set up groups of armed Protestants called the Volunteers to defend the country

• After the American Revolution ended in 1782 Henry Grattan used the Volunteers to demand an end to Poynings’ Law and more power for the Irish parliament

• Rather than another war King George gave in• So from 1782 to 1800 the Irish Parliament could make any laws it

liked• But when Grattan suggested sharing power with the Presbyterians

and Catholics the Ascendancy refused

Theobald Wolfe Tone

• Tone belonged to the Church of Ireland but his family were not rich enough to be part of the Protestant Ascendancy

• Studied Law in Trinity but interested in politics#

• When revolution in France broke out Tone welcomed it, hoping for Liberty, Equality and Fraternity in Ireland

• In 1791 Presbyterians in Belfast set up a club to work for these ideas

• Tone suggested they campaign against the Penal Laws

An Argument on behalf of the Catholics of Ireland

• Tone wrote this short book to convince Presbyterians to campaign against the Penal Laws

• Says religious divisions bad for Ireland

• Wanted to substitute the common name of Irishman in place of Protestant, Catholic and Presbyterian

United Irishmen

• Many people impressed by what Tone wrote

• Catholics asked him to be Secretary of a Catholic Committee working to remove Penal Laws

• Belfast Presbyterians asked him to help them set up the Society of United Irishman

The United Irishmen

• Aims:– Unite Irish people of all religions– Reform the Irish Parliament– Reduce British power in Ireland

• At first peaceful but in 1793 Britain went to war with France• The British thought that anyone who sympathised with French were

dangerous• When they found Tone talking to a French spy they forced him to

leave for America and outlawed the United Irishmen

• Qs page 214

New leaders plan a revolution

• Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Thomas Russell• Turned United Irishmen into a secret society and planned a

rebellion to set up an Irish republic• Tone went to France to persuade the French to send an army to

Ireland• The French appointed General Hoche to lead an army of 15,000• December 1796 the army set out but hit storms• Hoche’s ship went back to France• Tone’s ship reached Bantry Bay but couldn’t land due to weather• The expedition was abandoned

British reign of terror in 1797

• This frightened British and Ascendancy

• They decided to destroy United Irishmen

• Used spies to uncover plans• Introduced a reign of terror in

Leinster and Ulster where United Irishmen strongest

• Soldiers tortured people to make them show where weapons were

• Burned houses, destroyed crops, flogged and hanged people, guilty and innocent

Plans for a rebellion

• Lord Edward Fitzgerald and others drew up plans for a rebellion in May 1798

• But government spies reported the plans and the leaders were arrested

• Lord Edward Fitzgerald was killed resisting arrest

• Read page 216-217 Lord Ed Fitz

Rebellion in Leinster

• 23 May groups of United Irishmen attacked British soldiers in Dublin, Meath, Carlow, Wicklow and Kildare

• But poorly armed and poorly led

• British easily defeated them and treated prisoners with brutality

Rebellion in Wexford

• United Irishmen gathered at Oulart Hill• Government troops attacked them but rebels won• Then marched to Enniscorthy and set up camp at Vinegar Hill• By now rebels had 16,000 men• Led by local Protestant landlord Bagenal Harvey, they controlled

Wexford• But poorly armed and leaders couldn’t control them• British poured thousands of troops into Wexford• They were much better armed• They defeated the rebels when they attacked New Ross• After battle they killed many rebels

• In retaliation the rebels set fire to a barn full of Protestant prisoners at Scullabogue

• The final battle was at Vinegar Hill on 21 July

• After the rebels were defeated the government troops executed many of them

• Others were transported as convicts to Australia

The rebellion in Ulster

• This rebellion was limited due to:– The British terror of 1797

weakened the United Irishmen– Reports that Catholic rebels

had massacred Protestants in Wexford discouraged many Presbyterians

• In Antrim, a small group led by Henry Joy McCracken captured Ballymena, but were defeated soon after. McCraken was hanged

• In Down, Henry Munroe and his followers were defeated at Ballinahinch. Munroe was hanged, but most of his followers were not punished

The French land in Connacht

• In Paris, Wolfe Tone at last persuaded the French to send more troops but they came too late to help the rebels

• On 22 August, 1100 men landed in Killala in Co. Mayo. Thousands of local people joined them

• They defeated a small British army at Castlebar, but lost to a much larger force at Ballinamuck on 8 September

• Captured French soldiers were well treated but the Irish were massacred

• A little later a small French fleet arrived in Lough Swilly in Donegal. Wolfe Tone was on board

• The British navy captured them. Tone was sent to Dublin where he was tried and sentenced to hang

• He asked to be shot like a soldier and when that was refused he committed suicide

Results of the 1798 rebellion

1. Nobody knows the death toll but it was probably higher than in the French reign of terror

2. The rebellion scared the British and the Ascendancy. To protect themselves they passed the Act of Union in 1800– Made Ireland part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Ireland. This lasted until 1920– Abolished the separate Irish parliament. From 1800 to 1920 all

laws for Ireland were made in London by the Westminster Parliament

3. As part of the Union, the British promised to give Catholic Emancipation (remove Penal Laws), but they broke their promise

4. Therefore Catholics opposed the Union with Britain

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