Wolfe Tone and the United

Irishmen
Aims
The aims of the United Irishmen were:
• Complete separation from Britain
• To achieve this by violence
• To unite all religious groups

The founding of the United Irishmen

• The principles of the French revolution were very popular among
Belfast Presbyterians.
• Wolfe tone was invited to a meeting in Belfast on the 18th of
October 1791.
• The Society of United Irishmen was founded here.
• The Catholics wanted to become part of the government but
weren’t allowed to. This was called catholic emancipation.
• Catholics joined the United Irishmen in large numbers.

The influence of the war

• The beginning of the war between Britain and France in 1793
changed everything.
• A French spy, William Jackson, was found in Ireland on the 20th of
April 1794.
• The United Irishmen was declared an illegal organisation.
• Tone left Ireland to get help from France.
• The United Irishmen became a secret oath bound society.

Wolfe tone
• Theobald Wolfe tone was born in Dublin into a middle-class
Anglican family in June 1768.
• He was the son of a protestant coach maker.
• He studied in Trinity College to become a lawyer.
• He married Matilda Witherington.

Tone seeks French help

• Tone travelled from America to France in 1796.
• In December 1796, he returned to Ireland with general Hoche, 43
ships and 15,000 soldiers.
• They planned to land in bantry bay.
• They had to turn and go back to France because of bad weather.

Government response
 • Even before the French fleet sailed into bantry bay, the British
government had taken action to stop the rebellion.
• They set out to destroy the United Irishmen.
• People who had taken an oath received the death penalty.
• Some areas were subject to marshal law.
• General lake was sent to Ulster and Leinster.
• Three forms of torture used were pitch-capping, half-hanging,
and burning the victim’s houses.
• The rebels used pixes as weapons.

Leaders arrested
• In spite of these actions, the United Irishmen had almost 300,000
members in 1798, but they were poorly armed and trained.
• In 1798, the leaders of the United Irishmen were arrested.
• One of these was Lord Edward Fitzgerald who was wounded
when he was arrested and died a couple of weeks later.

The rising of 1798

• Even though the leaders were arrested, the rising broke out in
four main areas.
• In 1798, there was a rebellion.
• In Dublin, Kildare and Meath, mail coaches were attacked.
• However, this rebellion was easily put down.
• The next rebellion was in Wexford.
• It was lead by father john Murphy and Bagenall Harvey.
• It was a battle of Catholics vs. Protestants.
• On the 27th of May, 28 prisoners were massacred by protestant
mobs in Carnew.
• However, the Catholics were victorious on oulant hill, and they
captured enniscorthy and Waterford.
• In scullabogue, 200 Protestants were burned in a barn by the
Catholics.
• In Waterford town, a further 100 protestants were killed on a
bridge.
• The rebels were defeated in new Ross and arklow.
• In a major battle at vinegar hill, near enniscorthy, the insurgents
were badly defeated.
• Wexford town was captured by British forces.
• The leaders of the rebellion were hanged.
• The next rebellion took place in Ulster.
• Led by Henry joy McCracken, 4,000 rebels took over co. Antrim.
• Another 7,000 rebels were led by Henry Munro in co. down.
• This rebellion only lasted 10 days before they were defeated.
 • The final rebellion took place in Connacht.
• It was led by the French general Humbert and his 1,000 troops,
who landed in Killala.
• He defeated British forces at the races of castlebar and then
marched to Dublin.
• He was defeated in Ballinmuck, co. Longford.
• This battle consisted of General Lake and General Cornwallis and
their 10,000 troops versus General Humbert and his 850 troops.

Tone arrived
• During this time tone was still in France.
• He finally arrived in Ireland at Lough swilly, co. Donegal.
• He had 3,000 troops.
• He was arrested by the British forces.
• He was tried and found guilty of treason.
• He requested to be shot like a soldier, but this request was
refused, so he committed suicide on the 19th of November 1798.

The results of the 1798 rising

• It is estimated that 30,000 people died in Wexford alone.
• The act of union was passed in 1800.
• Wolfe tone became the father of Irish republicanism. He
influenced rebellions in 1803, and Robert Emmett who led the
1916 rising.
• Bitter divisions emerged between the Catholics and the
Protestants.

Theobald Wolfe Tone

Theobald Wolfe tone was born in Dublin into an Anglican family. He
trained as a lawyer in Trinity College.
He attended the meeting where the society of United Irishmen was
formed in Belfast on the 18th of October 1791. The main beliefs of the
united Irishmen were that the parliament should be reformed to give
greater say to the people, that no reform is fair unless it contains men
of every religious belief, and that English control of Irish affairs should
be ended.
A catholic committee was formed in Dublin to promote the
interests of Catholics. Most of the penal laws were abolished except 2.
Tone was disappointed, as he wanted them all to be abolished.
The United Irishmen were banned and became a secret oath
bound society.
In December 1796, tone went to France for French help. He
returned with 43 ships and 15,000 soldiers, but had to go back to
France because of bad weather in bantry bay.
 He returned to Ireland after the rising of 1798 and was arrested
and tried for treason. He was found guilty. His last request to be shot
like a soldier was refused so he committed suicide.
Wolfe Tone was regarded as the father of Irish republicanism. He
inspired the young Ireland rising in 1848, the fenion rising in 1867 and
the 1916 rising.