Irish Rebellion of 1798

An armed uprising in Ireland against British rule, led chiefly by the United Irishmen. It was influenced by the American and French revolutions and ended in defeat.

Society of United Irishmen: An Irish revolutionary organization founded in 1791 that sought parliamentary reform and later an independent republic. Its local networks organized the uprising and gave it its principal political leadership.
French Revolution: A revolution beginning in 1789 that overthrew the French monarchy and transformed French politics. Its republican ideals and war with Britain encouraged Irish revolutionaries to seek French assistance.
Theobald Wolfe Tone: An Irish revolutionary who helped found the United Irishmen and sought French support for Irish independence. His organizing and diplomacy helped define the rebellion’s republican and international strategy.
Acts of Union 1800: Legislation that united the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom from 1801. The uprising strengthened the British government’s case for abolishing the Irish Parliament.
French expedition to Ireland (1796): A failed French naval expedition intended to support an Irish rebellion against British rule. Its failure left the United Irishmen without the expected French military support before the rising.
American Revolution: A revolt by thirteen British colonies in North America that resulted in the United States’ independence. Its example of independence from British rule informed Irish reformers and revolutionaries.
Lord Edward FitzGerald: An Irish aristocrat and United Irish leader who died after British forces arrested him in May 1798. His arrest disrupted the planned leadership of the rising in Dublin.
Irish republicanism: A political tradition advocating an independent Irish republic and popular sovereignty. The rebellion became a formative episode in the tradition’s development and historical memory.
Wexford Rebellion: A major Catholic-led uprising in County Wexford during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Wexford became the rebellion’s largest and most sustained center of insurgent control.
Irish Volunteers: An Irish militia movement formed in 1778 amid fears of French invasion and demands for political reform. Its political mobilization helped create conditions for the United Irishmen’s early reform campaign.

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