The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1898-01-08
THE UNITED lRISHMEN.

AuC UNI Ed lNISHMEN.
In consequence of the transformation
given by British writer's about the
United Irishmen," whose memories
are to be celebrated this year, many
persons are laboring under the delus-
ion that the uprising of the Irish people
against English oppression one hundred
years ago was distinctively Catholic,
and that few if any Protestants par
ticipated in the rebellion. To remove
such an erroneous impression we will
give some historical facts from DIR.
Maddens Lives and Times OF the
United Irishmen" of 1898 and 1903,
which is now being published in the
Dublin Freeman's Journal.
He says that neither the Catholic re-
l1gion nor the Celtic race of Ireland
can lay much claim to the founders
and organizers of the patriotic society,"
and that for the origin Of the leaders
we must go back to the records of the
conffscation and apportionment of the
soil of Ireland among the English ad-
venturers who came over on The first
expedition of the Earl of Pembroke, or
In the train of the succeeding maraud-
ers The early English colonists pre-
served the faith they brought with him
into Ireland. The Protestant colonists
who subsequently arrived got the lands
OF the Anglican Catholics, and it was
the descendants Of the latter and not
the Celtic "Papist peasantry" who
founded the society of United Irishmen,
whose ultimate object was the separa-
tion Of ireland from the dominion of
England.
With regard to the religious, or "Ro-
man Catholic" complexion that has
been ascrlbed to the United Iri.;hmen's
movement by Musgrave and other Or
ange writer's, 1t may suffice to say that
of the chief members of that organiza-
ton we find that ninety we're Protest.
ants or Presbyterians, Of whom nine
were executed; and only forty-three
were Catholics, of whom twelve per-
ished on the scaffold. Amongst the
twenty-six clergymen of different de-
nominations who were accused of i'm
plication in the rebellion, thirteen were
Presbyterian ministers, OF whom three
were executed. Six Roman Catholic
priests were executed for the same
cause. 1t would be impossible to at
tempt the task Of apportioning the re-
spective numbers of the Catholic, Pro-
testant and Presbyterian members OF
the rank and file of the United Irish
men, or to state the proportion Of each
of these persuaslons amongst the thou
sands Of the poorer classes Of United
lrishmen who were slain in the field
of action, or murdered in their flight
or in their homes by the Yeomanry, or
who persisted on the scafrold during the
rebellion. OF the number of the latter
some idea may be gathered from the
TACT that in one week alone ninety of
the rebels were hanged on the Bridge
Of Wexford. What has been said, how
ever. is sufficient to show that of the
leaders, at least, of the society the
great majority were Professionals or
Presbyterians Of Anglican or Scotch
extraction.
The following list of names OF some
OF the more important of the organizers
OF the United 1rishmen is sufficiently
confirmatory Of these statements: Fitz-
gerald. Long, Plunket, Howley, Allen.
Barrel, Rowan, Sampson, Taaf7e, Dow
dali. Hudson, Hunter. Munroe, Nc
Cracker, Harold. Sheares, Hamilton,
Emmett, Bond. Chambers, Perry, Tone.
Swift, brennan, Simms, Tenant,
Sweetman, Devereux, Patten, Hay, Orr.
Sinclair, Tandy, Harvey, Herman, Rey-
nolds, Weir. Jackson, Mcdonnell, Nor
ris.
Moreover, an examination of the
records of this society proves that in it's
ranks were included far larger adj
mixture of men Of good birth, social
position, culture. afIluence than is
generally recognized.
Thus. for instance, in the councils of
the United lrishmen. besides Lord Ed
ward Fitzgerald. VIC find such names as
the Earl Of Wycombe. afterwards the
Marquis Of Lansdowne; the Hon. Simon
Butler G. Fitzgerald, son of the Knight
CT Glyn; the Hon. Valentine B. Law
less. afterwards Lord Cloncurry.
Amongst the landed gentry who
joined the United Irshmen were Fs-
monde Ryan. Of Wexford the repre-
sentative of one of our oldest Irish
houses; VIM. Byrne, of Ncwpark, VINO
held the remnant of the territory that
had been ruled by his ancestors long
before the Norman conquest of Eng
land; Cornelius Grogan, whose income
from landed property exceeded ten
thousand pounds year; Arthur and
Roger O'Connor; H. McGorgh, a gen.
tleman Of high position and large prom
critics in the county of Wexford; Bag
Ia! Harvey, who he'd an estate of ca.
coo a year in the same county, and JOIN,
S"ectman. Of Raheny. one of the prln-
ciral wealthy Catholic gentlemen Of
that day. With such persons were CON-
o!ned many leading members of the
oil