Abstract
In June 1798, Lord Cornwallis, newly appointed Viceroy of Ireland, commented to the Duke of Portland on ‘the folly which has been so prevalent in this question of substituting the word Catholicism, instead of Jacobinism, as the foundation of the present rebellion’.1 London’s Antijacobin Review, which made its first appearance the following month, managed to turn even Catholics into Jacobins, by applying the ‘Jacobin’ label to all who it thought posed a threat to the political and religious Establishment — on either side of the Irish Sea.2 Less polemically, modern historians have tried to decide how far, and how early, the Presbyterianled United Irishmen adopted French republican principles — as opposed to republican rhetoric — and how far the largely Catholic Defenders had been politicized, however crudely, by Paine’s Rights of Man.
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Notes
Cornwallis to Portland 28 June 1798 in K. Whelan, The Tree of Liberty: radicalism, Catholicism and the construction of Irish identity, 1760–1830 (Cork: Cork University Press, 1996) p. 148.
For the English context of AJR and its antijacobin campaign see S. Andrews, Unitarian Radicalism: political rhetoric 1770–1814 (Palgrave, 2003) Chapters 14 and 15, and The British periodical press and the French revolution, 1789–99 (Palgrave, 2000).
D. Dickson, in R. Musgrave, Memoirs of the different rebellions in Ireland from the arrival of the English and a particular detail of that which broke out on the XXIIID of May MDCCXCVIII, with the history of the conspiracy which preceded it, and the characters of the principal actors in it 4th edn [reprint of 3rd edn] (Fort Wayne, Indiana: Round Tower Books, 1995) pp. ii–xi.
On the imbalance of Musgrave’s account see also K. Whelan, Tree of Liberty p. 138 and J. Smyth, ‘Anti-Catholicism, conservatism and conspiracy: Sir Richard Musgrave’s Memoirs of the Different Rebellions in Ireland’ in Eighteenth-Century Life 22 (Nov. 1998).
For the theology and polity of Irish Presbyterianism, see T. Witherow, Historical and literary memorials of Presbyterianism in Ireland (London and Belfast, 1880).
C. Porter, Irish Presbyterian biographical sketches (Belfast, 1883).
J. M. Barkley, Short history of the Presbyterian church in Ireland (Belfast: Presbyterian Publications Board, (1960).
P. Brooke, Ulster Presbyterianism: the historical perspective 1610–1970 (New York and London, 1987).
For the political dimension see I. R. McBride, Scripture politics: Ulster Presbyterians and Irish radicals in the late eighteenth century (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998).
W. Drennan, Letter to the Right Honourable Charles fames Fox (Dublin, 1806) p. 8.
[J. Kirkpatrick], Historical essay upon the loyalty of the Presbyterians in Great Britain and Ireland from the Reformation to this present year 1713 (Belfast, 1713) p. 152.
D. N. Doyle, Ireland, Irishmen and revolutionary America, 1760–1820 (Dublin and Cork: Mercier Press, 1981) p. 161.
J. Cameron, Theophilus and Philander, a dialogue containing remarks on the Rev. Mr McDowell’s second letter to the supposed author of the ‘Catholic Christian’ (Belfast, 1772) in Witherow, p. 135.
Witherow, p. 130. See Priestley’s ‘Address to advocates of the present civil establishment’ in History of the corruptions of Christianity 2 vols (1782).
J. T. Rutt, Theological and miscellaneous writings of Joseph Priestley, LL.D, FRS, etc 25 vols (Sterling, Virginia and Bristol 1999: facsimile of London edn, 1817–31) iii pp. 495–504.
J. Priestley, Address to the Protestant Dissenters of all denominations on the approaching election of members of parliament (1774) in Rutt, xxii p. 491.
R. Price, Observations on the nature of civil liberty, the principles of government and the justice and policy of the war with America (1776).
R. Price, Discourse on the love of our country (1790).
See E. Burke, Reflections on the revolution in France: a critical edition ed. J. C. D. Clark (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001) p. 74.
See M. Elliott, Wolfe Tone: prophet of Irish Independence (Newhaven: Yale University Press, 1989) p. 268.
see C. Robbins, ‘“When it is that colonies may turn independent”… Francis Hutcheson (1694–1746)’ in WMQ 3rd series 11 (1954).
and C. Robbins, The eighteenth-century Commonwealth men (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1959).
See T. Lindsey to W. Tayleur, 1 March 1791, in H. McLachan, Letters of Theophilus Lindsey (London and Manchester, 1920) p. 67.
M. Elliott, Partners in revolution: the United Irishmen and France (Newhaven and London: Yale University Press, 1982) p. 212.
See also J. C. D. Clark, The language of liberty 1660–1782: political discourse and social dynamic in the Anglo-American world (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
W. Drennan to M. McTier, 13 December 1777 in Drennan Letters ed. D. A. Chart (Belfast: HMSO 1931) pp. 3–4.
see K. Whelan, ‘The Green Atlantic in the eighteenth century’ in K. Wilson (ed.) A new imperial history: culture, identity and modernity in Britain and the empire 1660–1840 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004) p. 223.
M. McTier to W. Drennan, 7 July [1778] in Letters, p. 7.
Cf N. J. Curtin, ‘Symbols and rituals of United Irish mobilisation’ in Ireland and the French Revolution ed. H. Gough and D. Dickson, (Dublin, 1990).
see D. Dickson, New foundations: Ireland 1660–1800 (Dublin and Portland, Oregon: Irish Academic Press, 2000) p. 158.
R. B. McDowell, Irish public opinion 1750–1800 (Faber, 1944) p. 43.
A. T. Q. Stewart, A deeper silence: the hidden roots of the United Irish movement (London and Boston: Faber, 1943) p. 22.
M. R. O’Connell, Irish politics and social conflict in the age of the American Revolution (Philadelphia, 1965) p. 320.
W. E. H. Lecky, History of Ireland in the eighteenth century 5 vols (Longman, 1898) iii p. 81.
[W. Drennan], Address to the Volunteers of Ireland, by the author of a letter to Edmund Burke, Esq., containing reflections on patriotism, party spirit, and the union of free nations (Dublin, 1781) p. 13.
W. Drennan, Letters of Orellana, an Irish helot to the seven northern counties not represented in the national assembly of delegates, held at Dublin, October, 1784, for obtaining a more equal representation of the people in the parliament of Ireland (Dublin, 1785) p. 3.
W. Drennan to S. McTier 21 May 1791 in Drennan Letters [note 32] p. 54.
N. J. Curtin, The United Irishmen: popular politics in Ulster and Dublin, 1791–1798 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994) p. 51.
W. Drennan, Letter to his Excellency Lord Fitzwilliam, lord lieutenant, etc, of Ireland (Dublin, 1795) p. 24 in Curtin, p. 30.
cf M. Elliott, The Catholics of Ulster: a history (Penguin Press, 2000) p. 241.
See R. B. McDowell, Ireland in the Age of Imperialism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979) pp. 351–2.
On the Dublin National Guard Autobiography of Archibald Hamilton Rowan ed. W. H. Drummond (Dublin, 1840) in facsimile edn with introduction by McDowell (Shannon: Irish University Press, 1972) p. 156.
Curtin, p. 37. See McBride, ‘William Drennan and the Dissenting Tradition’ in D. Dickson, D. Keogh and K. Whelan, The United Irishmen: republicanism, radicalism and rebellion (Dublin: Lilliput Press, 1993) p. 61.
But see Elliott, Watchmen in Sion: the Protestant idea of liberty (Derry, 1985).
see also N. J. Curtin, ‘The transformation of the Society of United Irishmen into a mass-based revolutionary organization, 1794–6’ in IHS 24/96 (Nov. 1985) pp. 471–3.
see J. Smyth, The men of no property: Irish radicals and popular politics in the late eighteenth century (London and New York 1992; reprinted 1998) pp. 147–51.
W. J. MacNeven, Pieces of Irish history illustrative of the catholics of Ireland, of the origin and progress of the united Irishmen; and of their transactions with the Anglo-Irish government (New York, 1807) p. 74.
L. M. Cullen, ‘The 1798 Revolution in its eighteenth-century context’ in P. J. Corish (ed.) Radicals, rebellions and establishments (Belfast, 1985).
S. Connolly, ‘Catholicism in Ulster’ in P. Roebuck (ed.) Plantation to partition; essays in Irish history in honour of J. L. McCracken (Belfast, 1981) pp. 168–9.
see R. Gillespie and H. O’Sullivan (eds), The Borderlands: essays on the history of the Ulster-Leinster border (Belfast, 1989).
L. M. Cullen, The emergence of modern Ireland, 1600–1900 (Batsford, 1981) p. 57.
See J. Sweetman, A refutation of the charges attempted to be made against the secretary of the sub-committee of the Catholics of Ireland, particularly of abetting the Defenders (Dublin, 1793).
J. Quigley, The life of the Rev. James Coigley, observations upon his trial, and an address to the people of Ireland, and several interesting letters, all written by himself during his confinement in Maidstone gaol (1798) pp. 12–13.
Elliott, Catholics of Ulster, pp. 244–6, following D. Miller, Peep o’ day boys to Defenders: selected documents on the county Armagh disturbances 1784–96 (Belfast, 1990) pp. 138–9.
F, Wright, Two lands in one soil: Ulster politics before home rule (Dublin, 1996) pp. 42–3.
J. Smyth, The men of no property: Irish radicals and popular politics in the late eighteenth century (Macmillan, 1998 reprint of 1992) p. 43.
J. Adams, Defence of the constitutions of government of the United States of America against the attacks of M. Turgot in his Letter to Dr Price… 3 vols (1774) i p. 208.
T. Russell, Letter to the people of Ireland on the present situation of the country (Belfast, 1796) p. 23; Disturbances [note 97] p. 8.
citing J. Burk, The cry of the poor for bread (Dublin, 1795).
D. Taafe, Ireland’s mirror exhibiting a picture of her present state, with a glimpse of her future prospects (Dublin, 1796).
M. Edgeworth to M. Ruxton 20 April 1795 in Memoirs of Richard Lovell Edgeworth begun by himself and concluded by his daughter, Maria Edgeworth, 2 vols. (1820) i pp. 205–6.
Whelan, ‘Re-interpreting the 1798 Rebellion in County Wexford’ in D. Keogh and N. Furlong (eds), The mighty wave: the 1798 rebellion in Wexford (Dublin, 1996) p. 34.
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© 2006 Stuart Andrews
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Andrews, S. (2006). 1798: Bicentennial Verdict. In: Irish Rebellion. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230800571_1
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