Irish Rebellion of 1798: Encyclopedia II - Irish Rebellion of 1798 - Society of United Irishmen

Irish Rebellion of 1798 - Society of United Irishmen

The promise of reform inspired liberals to found the Society of the United Irishmen in 1791, openly putting forward its policies of democratic reform and Catholic emancipation, reforms that the Irish Parliament had no intention of granting and the British government were just as unwilling to enforce. The declaration of war against France in 1793 following the execution of Louis XVI forced the Society underground and toward the French revolutionary model of agitation as opposed to the less radical American example. The avowed intent of the United Irishmen was now to "break the connection with England" and the organisation spread throughout Ireland, helped by linking up with Catholic agrarian resistance groups, known as the Defenders, and had at least 100,000 members by 1797.

A decision was also made to seek military help from the French revolutionary government, and to postpone the rising until French troops landed in Ireland. The leader of the United Irishmen Theobald Wolfe Tone travelled to revolutionary France to press the case for intervention and these plans seemed to come to fruition when he accompanied a force of 15,000 French troops under General Hoche which eluded the Royal Navy and arrived off the coast of Ireland at Bantry Bay in December 1796. However unremitting storms, indecisiveness and poor seamanship all combined to prevent invasion, prompting the despairing Wolfe Tone to remark, "England has had its luckiest escape since the Armada".

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Society of United Irishmen", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki