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The United Irishmen
The United Irishmen
movement began at a meeting off Crown Entry in 1791 in Belfast with quite
philanthropic objectives - to secure
equality under the law and representation for all people without regard to
religious beliefs and stemmed, amongst other things, from the desire of
The Catholic Committee to obtain the help of the Protestant community.
The original declaration of
the United Irishmen which was adopted by the various district societies,
stated among other things
" In the present great era of reform, when unjust
governments are falling in every quarter of Europe ... when all government
is acknowledged to originate from the people, and to be so far only
obligatory as it protects their rights and promotes their welfare, we
think it our duty as Irishmen, to come forward and state what we
feel to be our heavy grievance, and what we know to be its effectual
remedy.
Their grievance was
essentially :-
...we are ruled by
Englishmen, and the servants of Englishmen, whose object is the interest
of another country... the weight of English influence in the government of
this country is so great as to require a cordial union among all the
people of Ireland, to maintain that balance which is essential to the
preservation of our liberties and the extension of our commerce ... the
sole constitutional mode by which this influence can be opposed is bu a
complete and radical reform of the representation of the people in
Parliament.
The Society was the
successor to the Volunteers , who ceased to
exist in 1793. In the preceding 20 years they had carried the flag of
greater freedom for Ireland and all its populace. However, by the end of
1795 the aims and objectives of the United Irishmen were focused more on
republicanism and the overthrow of government by force which rent its
leaders with disagreement and indecision. Regrettably small violent
factions - the Peep O` Day Boys ( Protestant) and and the Defenders
(Catholic) were at odds. Following a battle at Loughall in 1795 the Orange
Institution was formed.
By 1798 there was a
force of some five hundred thousand, of whom about one half were armed,
and of these about seventy thousand were Presbvyterians and thirty
thousand Ulster Catholics.In 1797 the army commander, General Lake carried
out searches for arms and rebels, indulging in much cruelty that gave rise
to a smouldering resentment.
Within the the Belfast
branch were a number of Orr`s the most prominent being
William Orr of Farranshane, Co Antrim, who was
convicted by a drunken jury for allegedly administering a treasonable
oath to two soldiers. He was convicted despite
pleas for clemency and clear evidence of a mistrial, and hanged at
Carrickfergus on 14. October 1797. "Remember Orr " was a rallying cry in
the subsequent 1798 rebellion in which his brothers James and Samuel took
part.
[Have a look at the oath
and see if there is anything that you might think is treasonable.]
The United Irishmen
movement suffered greatly from government spies who infiltrated at all
levels such that the government were always well advised of developments.
This resulted in the seizure of all the ring leaders, including Lord
Edward Fitzgerald, and in many cases their execution. The scene was set
for armed rebellion which began in the south on 24 May 1798 but it was a
month later before the north rebelled.
References:
The United Irishmen,
Educational Facsimiles 61 - 80, produced by PRONI
proni.nics.gov.uk are
particularly good and provide facsimiles of actual correspondence between
interested parties from the PRONI archives.
There is a long history of
rebellion and resistance in Ireland, and despite the modern media hype and
focus on violence, much was in fact peaceable. The sad thing is that many
of the brave rebels gave their lives, or had it taken by a vengeful
government for giving voice to their beliefs. The book " Speeches from the
Dock: Or, Protests of Irish Patriotism; by T.D, A.M., and D. B. Sullivan (
M H Gill & Son Ltd Dublin & Waterford) contains not only the speech of
William Orr, but of other United Irishmen including Wolf Tone; The Sheares
Brothers; Robert Emmett and Thomas Russell. A list of persons mentioned in
the book, which includes later patriots, is here.
An excellent and objective book about the
rebellion is "The Great Irish Rebellion of 1798" being the Thomas Davis
lectures, edited by Cathal Poirteir. Mercier Press, Dublin (1998) ISBN
185635 226 9. |
