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The Eighteenth century was an exceptionally volatile time in the Modern Period; with Revolutions and the ideals of them spreading like wildfire into every country of Europe.
For all of the Modern Period previously, European society had been very rigid and a person's place was determined at birth and could never be altered. The discovery of the New World enabled some who had acquired a bit of personal wealth to go over and try to run a piece of land. Some of these people procured as much wealth as some of the aristocracy in their home country. However, if they went back to the Old World, they would still be not accepted into the nobility. Including these new land owners, a new middle-class were also beginning to obtain a great amount of wealth, and like their New World counterparts, they were beginning to object to their station in the social and political spheres.
The American Revolution in 1776, proved that it was possible to move out of this social cage and become a society based on democratic principles. France, who had helped America to achieve this independence from British rule began to be infused with these principles that they helped another country fight for. The French Revolution soon followed in 1789.
If any country in Europe needed or deserved a revolution it was Ireland. The Irish situation economically, politically, and socially was the worse in Europe. Then, why should Ireland not follow America and France and claim herself an independent state?
The events prior to May 23, 1798 hold a great significance to why the Irish Rebellion failed. Ireland's situation, while being similar to that of America and France, was unique, and the reasons why the Rebellion never become a full Revolution lies in these differences. Due to these events and unique situation the Revolution was doomed to fail before it even began.
While the ideals of the American and French Revolutions were being passed through every country in Europe. Ireland related to them the most acutely:
"The French Revolution had a remarkable message for all peoples . . . a new order of
society based on the theory of the people's participation rather than just their accept-
ance of their lot was a practical possibility. This excited the minds of political thinkers
all of the world, particularly in Britain, and most particularly in Ireland, where even
more acutely than elsewhere in the British Isles, an urgent need for the reform
of the political system along more popular lines was already being widely felt and
discussed."
This communal feeling of dissatisfaction with the status quo was not only due to shared political, economic, and social situations, but also due to her close ties with America and France. For a hundred years Irish men and women had been emigrating to those countries. "For a hundred years, close ties between France and Catholic Ireland had made Ireland sensitive to anything that happened there. Ever since the Wild Geese had flown to France after the Treaty of Limerick, adventurous Catholics, frustrated by penal laws, had been crossing the seas to put on the uniform of France, fight in her armies and become her citizens."
Like in America and France, Ireland had its share of intellectuals, popular journalists, and pamphleteers. In France, popular journalism was closely linked to Republican clubs, almost all the articles were written by those who would end up being the most vocal in fighting for the Revolution. In Ireland there was no shortage of political thinkers, and newspapers such as The Northern Star, The Press, and Union Star began to appear. It has been argued that without these political thinkers no Revolutions could ever take place. Who else could entice the common man to put down his scythe and pick up a pike instead? The Irish Volunteers - before March 1798 - were not in short supply of leaders or advocates. In spite of these great minds at work, more than just justifying Revolution is needed to actually achieve one. Ireland's entire condition was to hinder these forces working for Revolution. In Ireland there was no shortage of political thinkers, and newspapers such as The Northern Star, The Press, and Union Star began to appear. It has been argued that without these political thinkers no Revolutions could ever take place. Who else could entice the common man to put down his scythe and pick up a pike instead? The Irish Volunteers - before March 1798 - were not in short supply of leaders or advocates. In spite of these great minds at work, more than just justifying Revolution is needed to actually achieve one. Ireland's entire condition was to hinder these forces working for Revolution.
Ireland in the Eighteenth century was one of the poorest countries of all of Europe. Britain after fighting with France in the Seven Years' War was left in a very poor economic situation - accumulating a debt of approximately £33,000,000 and the best way (for England) to repay its debt was to heavily tax its colonies and kingdoms. Unfortunately for Ireland, when America claimed itself independent from Britain and refused to pay taxes, this left the burden of taxation even heavier on Britain's other colonies and kingdoms. This was only adding to the already repressing taxation of the Irish. The majority of Ireland's population were Catholic peasant farmers who were made to pay a tithe, ". . . a tax in the form of about one tenth of the peasant's produce which he was by law compelled to pay for the upkeep of a church to which he did not even belong."3 All this would not have been so bad if the peasants had been able to pay these taxes.
Unlike America, the Irish economy was very poor, mainly due to England's measures to repress Ireland's main exports in place of their own and from its colonies. Under these conditions, it is not surprising that establishing a Volunteer army from the peasantry would be a very difficult, if not nearly impossible task. Even if a sufficient army was amassed, where would the money to feed and upkeep this army come from? The Royal Irish Army was costing £3,000,000 per year. The majority of the wealthy Irish were Anglo-Irish Protestants and there would be no way that they would have funded a militia formed mainly of Catholics, especially considering the Rebellion of 1641.
In France, the economic situation was almost as bad, the war with England left France with a huge debt. The 'fix' for the situation was the same as in America and Ireland, taxation. In America, taxation and export controls were the main reason for discontent and Revolution.
Ireland had the worse economic situation of the three. Which while leading to discontent with England for keeping their economy down, also made it nearly impossible to finance a Revolution.
Ireland's political situation was very undemocratic. Having been a part of the British Empire for nearly 800 years and being given only a little more than symbolic rule over their own country in their Parliament; and while the majority of the population of Ireland was Catholic, they were not allowed into the legal profession, to sit in their Parliament, nor even to vote. "The survivors of the Catholic upper-class, aroused by the Volunteer movement, wanted equality with their Protestant neighbours: the right to serve in the army, to hold a commission of the peace, and above all to exercise political power. The emergent Catholic middle-class wanted equal rights in the professions - law was closed to them and they too wanted political rights."4
Americans were only allowed minimum control over their government, and in any situation where America's interest was contrary to that of England, England always got what they wanted in the end. In France the middle-class were involved in law and politics, but the nobility still had the right to overturn any of these laws or arrest anyone without due process.
Law and politics equaled power in the Eighteenth century, anyone who was excluded from these were not only oppressed but never received justice. Ireland, where the whole of government, law and politics were ran by Protestants even though the majority of the population was Catholic, ensured that justice would never be served to the people.
Ireland, like France had a very strict social situation. The social situation was strongly linked to the political sphere, the power structure of Ireland did not allow, especially for Catholics, much movement. One of the major causes of the French Revolution had been to overthrow their social structure, the ancien regime, with its strict three estates. America never had an ancien regime, the changes to the social structure where not as drastic as in France or would have been for Ireland.
Ireland's middle-class, unlike France, were of a different religious, political, and social standing than that of the majority. This made it harder for Ireland since many of those in power were comfortable with the status quo and did not feel the need for complete independence from England.
In all three cases, economic, political, and social situations were closely linked and were major motives behind these Revolutions. " . . .only a complete break from England would give Ireland the economic rights, and the Irish professional classes the political power, that justice demanded. This in turn could only be accomplished by revolution."5 In trade and politics, Ireland was treated like a colony - their goods kept out of the English market, their Parliament kept subordinate to Westminster. The only permanent fix for this would be a complete independence from England. However, where America had the wealth and France had the established army to begin and maintain a Revolution, Ireland had neither of these luxuries.
Ireland's economic, political, and social position was not the only ways in which Ireland situation hindered her opportunity for a Revolution. Firstly, the geographical situation of each country to its oppressor was different in each case. For America, Britain was an ocean away, in France, their capital, and Ireland: ". . .is geographically part of the British Isles. It was to this unique geographical predicament - too far from Britain to be assimilated, too near to be allowed to be separate - that so many of Ireland's anomalies and miseries could be traced."6 British armies could easily be transported and the Navy be called upon quickly should a situation in Ireland arise.
Ireland was not a stranger to Rebellion against British/Anglo-Irish/Protestant Rule, there were many revolts prior to 1798, most notably the Rebellion of 1641. However, these revolts had been put down, what Ireland needed to achieve a Revolution was a greater amount of organization. However, one huge problem facing the organization of the United Irishmen was the division of the Irish by class and religion. Most of the top revolutionaries were of bourgeoisie standing, and all but one was Protestant. There were frequent clashes between Catholic and Protestant in the Volunteers. Most of the revolutionaries were more concerned with parliamentary reform than Catholic emancipation, which would lessen their power. Even if the Revolution had been a success, this does not necessarily mean that Ireland would have became a fully democratic state.
Akin to America, where even after the Revolution was concluded, "principles announced in the Declaration of Independence were not fully implemented, American republicanism was not synonymous with radical egalitarianism . . . rich supporters of independence retained their property and much of their power. Many white men made substantial gains, but may others remained poor and were still excluded from participation in politics and government [land ownership was a requirement]."7 In France this was not as much of an issue as the majority of the population and those holding wealth and power were Catholic and even those in the bourgeoisie were considered by their noble counterparts as still only a part of the third estate. Some of the Irish Directory, most notably Wolfe Tone, wanted Catholic emancipation to come along with Irish independence, but to most of the revolutionaries it was a back issue.
Rebuplicanism spread quickly throughout Europe following the French Revolution. Britain, who had already lost America to republicanism, not surprisingly decided to put a shorter leash on its other colonies and kingdoms. Ireland was not only of economic importance to Britain but also of defense as well. An invasion force from Europe could seize Ireland, cross the Irish Sea and invade Britain. After the French Bantry Bay expedition failed in 1796 Britain became even more aware of this. The British and Irish Parliaments decided to use conciliatory measures first. In 1778, almost all trade restrictions were lifted and some penal laws were lightened. However, ". . . nothing was done about the land laws which hindered the hardest on the people; and the partial relaxation of the penal laws only raised expectations that they would be erased completely."8 However, these friendly measures did not last when the Volunteer movement still continued.
"On March 30, [1798] the Privy Council signed a proclamation that declared the country in a state of actual "rebellion", threatened the disaffected with the most summary measures unless they surrendered their arms; although civil courts were still sitting, the proclamation imposed some more than martial law over the whole kingdom."9 After this, the de-arming of rebels began in the middle counties to the complete surprise to the Volunteers, leaving them again disorganized - many leaders afterwards abandoned their 'troops' to the loyalist army - and underarmed.
One major mistake made by the revolutionaries was waiting too long for the Rebellion to begin. At first, this was to wait for French help, but even after that seemed unlikely, the Directory still waited. This allowed the Castle to gather more information from their spies and to allow for more control to be gained by the Royal Army. By the time the Rebellion actually began, it was too late for French intervention, the Rebellion still would have failed without it.
The American Revolution had taken Britain almost by surprise. They knew that America was unhappy with taxation, which the Americans made known with the Boston Tea Party in 1773. At first, the British government thought that the rebels were just a small group of disaffected Americans, and decided to enforce tougher law enforcement.
The British government imposed the Coercive or Intolerable Acts in 1774 to restore order in Massachusetts. Far from leading to submission, these measures provoked outrage in both in Massachusetts and crucially in the other colonies as well. This led to the meeting of a Continental Congress to organize opposition to English policies.
The main reason, I believe, that the Irish Rebellion failed before it began was because of the network of spies that Dublin Castle had integrated into the United Irishmen. One such spy was Thomas Reynolds a Catholic silk merchant, whose sister-in-law was married to Theobald Wolfe Tone. He gave information which led to the arrest of most of the National Directory on March 11. The United organization was almost at a loss of what to do since so much reorganization was needed. The few who escaped were all also arrested before the rising began. The Castle also knew the date planned for the uprising was set for May 23, and how it was to be carried out.
On May 22, Dublin was battened down and prepared for the next day's rising. Of course, due to the Castle knowing the full plan of the uprising beforehand they were more than prepared and in Dublin the Rebellion was squelched quickly.
The Rebellion did not end here, other counties - most notably Wexford, Waterford, Wicklow, Antrim, and Down - all rebelled after not receiving news from Dublin that the Rebellion there had failed. Some of these rebellions were fairly successful, but in the end the Rebellion as a whole was put down. After this, a 'Reign of Terror' was unleashed by British General Gerard Lake to make sure that all rebellious ideas were finally squashed.
Unlike their American and French counterparts, the Irish Revolutionaries had failed. The economic, political, and social settings in all three countries were similar, and while the circumstances in Ireland seemed to favour the dissatisfaction needed to start a Revolution, these same problems and others, also ultimately caused its downfall.
  
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