The Irish Rebellions of 1798 were a succession of clashes orchestrated by nationalist Irishmen seeking to emancipate themselves from British rule. Led by the United Irishmen Society, the movement gave rise to new hopes, and the Irish never ceased to believe in an end similar to that of the French Revolution of 1789. Here’s how his confrontations went…
Theobald Wolfe Tone – cc
It all began in 1791, when a few radical Presbyterians in Belfast decided to form a political group called the United Irismen Society. The main aim of the organization’s members was to fight anti-Catholic oppression, and achieve Irish independence through parliamentary reform. It is headed by Theobald Wolfe Tone, an Irish lawyer campaigning for an independent Irish Republic. This man would soon become one of the founding fathers of modern nationalism.
When war broke out between France and England in 1793, the United Irishmen’s Society was declared illegal, lest it seek French assistance. It then transformed itself into a secret military society and decided to organize a full-fledged revolution.
Theobald Wolfe Tone contacted the French government to organize an expedition to Ireland. A 15,000-strong French fleet left Brest harbor on December 15, 1796, but was unable to dock at Bantry Bay due to heavy storms. The invasion was abandoned and the fleet returned to France.
Ireland was then hit by repression. On March 30, 1798, martial law was proclaimed throughout the country. To bring the United Irishmen Society movement to its knees, the British government launched a gigantic operation to track down the rebels. During these searches, the English government burned down villagers’ homes, tortured, raped and coldly murdered the Irish, and mercilessly slaughtered all the peasants’ livestock.
Faced with the murderous actions of the English, the United Irishmen decided to stage a gigantic uprising on May 24, 1798. During the organization of this insurrection, many peasants joined the movement: from then on, there were several thousand participants.
The rebellion began in Dublin when the United Irishmen attempted to seize strategic buildings in the Irish capital. Unfortunately, they were soon crushed, and suffered a bitter failure. Despite Dublin’s failure, the United Irishmen of Ulster province also rose up, led by Presbyterian Henry Joy McCracken.
On June 7, 3,000 Irish soldiers attacked the town of Antrim, and on June 9 the rebellion, led by the Protestant Henry Munroe, spread to County Down. The Ulster revolt lasted less than a week, however, before being crushed by the English army. Henry McCracken and Henry Munroe were then captured and executed by hanging. Meanwhile, County Wexford saw its capital captured by the United Irishmen, who then redoubled their efforts to successfully seize Enniscorthy. They did, however, suffer some serious setbacks in their defeats at New Ross (June 5) and Arklow (June 9). The defeat at New Ross was a disaster for the rebels. Of the 10,000 men engaged at the start of the battle, only 3,000 survived due to their poor military equipment (many defended themselves with pikes and pitchforks, while the few Irish had difficulty using a few weapons collected here and there).
On June 21, the rebels all retreated to Vinegar Hill, near Enniscorthy, to give battle to General Lake’s 10,000 men. Before long, the rebels had to flee in the face of their outnumbered opponents. The leaders of the rebellion in the various counties were all sentenced to death and executed.
A month later, on August 22, 1798, a flotilla of three French ships landed at Killala, carrying more than 1,000 soldiers led by General Humbert and General Hardy. It was on August 22 that General Humbert and his men succeeded in driving back the small English garrison and taking the town of Killala. On hearing of this victory, thousands of Irishmen joined the French troops. On August 27, the French army launched a new assault and captured the town of Castlebar, a strategic point enabling General Humbert to control the whole of County Mayo.
The republic was proclaimed on August 31 and John Moore elected president. But the English generals reinforced their garrisons in the county and prepared to attack Castlebar. With no opposition, the town was easily recaptured by the English. Indeed, feeling threatened, General Humbert and 1000 United Irishmen had left Castlebar in a hurry on September 4, and were heading rapidly towards County Sligo in order to reach Ulster. On their way, they had to battle General Lake, who was hot on their heels. But with no news of the long-awaited French reinforcements, the French expedition’s chances of success diminished further and further. General Humbert led his troops to Ballintra and crossed the River Shannon.
The French and United Irishmen clashed with the English army on a small hill at Ballinamuck,(Co. Longford). They were quickly defeated on September 8, 1798. In all, over 500 United Irishmen were killed, sabred by the cavalry or machine-gunned in the bogs.
The English soon retook Killala, putting an end to the Republic of Connacht, and executing its president John Moore after a summary trial.
On September 16, an army of 3,000 additional men led by General Hardy and Wolfe Tone landed in Rutland Bay (Co. Donegal). The flotilla ran into the English squadron and had to surrender. Theobald Wolfe Tone was recognized, arrested and taken to Dublin. Court-martialed on November 10, 1798, he claimed responsibility for his actions and, in deference to his uniform as Brigade Commander in the French army, demanded to be shot as a soldier, not hanged as a criminal. His judges nevertheless condemned him to be hanged. But refusing the infamous rope, he slit his own throat in his cell and agonized for a week before dying on November 19, 1798. His death marked the definitive end of the 1798 insurrection.
It is estimated that between 50,000 and 60,000 Irish died during the Irish Rebellions. The immediate political consequence of this conflict was the abolition of the Irish Parliament in 1801, even though legislative independence had been achieved since 1782. Henceforth, the fate of the Irish depended on the full powers of the London Parliament. The island was attached to Great Britain by the Act of Union, which gave birth to the United Kingdom.
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