The Rebellion of 1798.

The Church of Ireland ascendancy which owned over 80% of the land although they were only 10% of the population, the spectacle of the French Revolution horrified the ruling classes of England and Ireland, and they refused to support any reforms which might result in then losing their supremacy, they were determined to maintain an even tighter grip on the country and its people. The bishops and ruling classes of the Catholic Church also supported the status quo since they may have been afraid of the revolutionary ideas and the tendency towards atheism which they perceived in the French. The lower classes having little to lose developed a strong opposition to England and to the English connection.

Due to the influence of the American and French Revolutions the ideals of freedom and reform began spreading in Ireland. Theobald Wolfe Tone, a lawyer from County Kildare, was greatly influenced by the French Revolution. In Ireland he saw all the injustice that had been renounced by the French. He attacked the English rule and system of government which prevailed at the time. At first within the law, but, eventually he realized that England would not easily relinquish her control of Ireland and that armed insurrection was the only alternative.

Tone published a pamphlet in 1791 'A Northern Whig' in which he attacked the 1782 constitution. Hoping to speed reform of the Irish government in Dublin, in it he advocated cooperation between Catholics and Dissenters. October of that year together with Rowan Hamilton, Napper Tandy, Henry Joy McCracken and other Protestants, they formed the Society of United Irishmen in Peggy Barclay’s tavern in Sugarhouse Entry, Belfast.

The aims were.

1. To abolish all religious distinctions.
2. To unite all Irishmen against the unjust influence of England.
3. To secure true representation in a national parliament.

The English prime minister Pitt, promised to support Irish emancipation. However the majority of the Irish Executive in Dublin, fearing to lose their own position and power refused to honour Pitt's promises. The Catholic Relief Bill was passed, but with few concessions. The English king gave support to the Irish reformers and influenced Parliament to pass a new Catholic Relief Act in 1793. This act enabled Catholics.

1. To bear arms.
2. To become members of corporations.
3. To vote as forty-shilling freeholders in counties and open boroughs.
4. To act as grand jurors.
5. To take degrees in Dublin University.
6. To hold minor offices.
7. To take commissions in the army below the rank of general.

Counter measures were soon introduced. The Arms Bill decreed the formation of a militia and forbade the carrying of arms by all except government forces. The Convention Act forbade the assembling of any bodies calling themselves representatives of the nation.

January 1795 saw the appointment of Lord Fitzwilliam, an Irish landowner friendly to the Catholic cause, as Lord Lieutenant. He planned to bring about full Catholic emancipation, but naturally the establishment opposed him and prevailed upon Pitt to withdraw his support. Pitt instructed Fitzwilliam not to introduce any proposal to admit Catholics to Parliament and to government offices, but to support such a measure if it were brought forward by others. Fitzwilliam was eventually recalled. Lord Camden succeeded Fitzwilliam. Camden was instructed to oppose Catholic emancipation and the reform of Parliament.

When the British executed one of their number William Orr at Carrickfergus on 14th October 1797, The United Irishmen could see no alternative but armed struggle. The legal and public oath of the United Irishmen was changed to a secret and revolutionary one. The United Irishmen's Directory in Dublin began to organize Ireland on a military basis, and emissaries were sent to France in an effort to enlist the support of the French government.

In early 1796 The Insurrection Act was passed.

1. The Lord Lieutenant could place any district under martial law.
2. All arms were to be produced.
3. The death penalty be imposed for administering an unlawful oath.
4. Any taking such an oath be transported.
5. Magistrates be empowered to seize any subjects and send them to serve at sea.

Tone in Paris persuaded the French director Lazare Carnot to launch a Military expedition to Ireland, promising that the Irish people would rise in support. Eventually Carnot agreed, and on the 16th December 1796 an armada of forty three ships sailed from Brest for Ireland. On board were fourteen thousand troops commanded by General Lazare Hoche. Sailing in the Indomitable was Tone, now a general officer in the French army.

Due to bad weather and problems with navigation only thirty four of the fleet reached Bantry Bay five days later, upon their arrival the weather deteriorated making landing impossible. A French Lieutenant and his crew in a longboat from the frigate Resolue were swept ashore while trying to communicate between the anchored ships. They were captured and taken to Bantry House 'used as headquarters of the British garrison' for interrogation. These were the only French to land in Ireland on this occasion. By 31st December the operation was called off, and the ships still in Bantry Bay weighed anchor and set sail for home. The captured longboat can be seen in Dublin maritime museum.

The rebellion began on May 23rd 1798

The United Irishmen inflicting humiliating defeats on the crown at Enniscorthy and Wexford where they captured the towns. Possibly due to communication problems the the rebellion in Ulster did not begin until 7th June, when Henry Joy McCracken led United men to Antrim town where they were defeated and scattered. McCracken was captured and hanged in Belfast.

The rebellion was more formidable in county Down where Presbyterians joined the cause in impressive numbers. The York Fencibles were totally routed at Saintfield, but the rebellion in the north was over when the insurgents were defeated at Ballynahinch on 12th 13th June. The tide turned in the southeast when the government had victories at Arklow, New Ross, Bunclody and Vinegar Hill. French troops landed at Killala in August and won a striking victory at Castlebar, only to be defeated at Ballinamuck in County Longford.

A French naval force was overwhelmed in Lough Swilly in November, and Wolfe Tone was captured and committed suicide in prison shortly afterwards.

It is estimated that about 30,000 lives were lost in the rebellion, the conflict was such that families for whatever reason were often divided in their loyalty, father against son, brother against brother.