United Irishmen (Political Ideas)

Betty_Boop

:rolleyes: Hi Guys, How you all doing?. I am wondering could some of you please help me, I am doing an assignment on the political ideas of the United Irishmen and to be honest its a lot harder than i thought it would be. I have done a lot of reading background and primary sources such as wolftones pamphlets and issues of the Utd Irishmen's official newspaper. I just cannot seem to get to the point in my essay, too much facts and details but lacking the right ones, can someone please shed some light on the fundamental political ideas of the movement, i would be so grateful its just that i've read so much and now my heads in a muddle and i cant get a clear idea.
Thanks
Betty B

GusherING

The 3 resolutions they passed at their first meeting in October 1791 pretty much sum up their mission. They are:

1.)That the weight of English influence in the Government of this country is so great as to require a cordial union among all the people of Ireland, to maintain that balance which is essential to the preservation of our liberties and the extension of our commerce.

2.)That the sole constitutional mode by which this influence can be opposed is by a complete and radical reform of the people in Parliament.

3.)That no reform is just which does not include Irishmen of every religious persuasion.

They got more hardline as they were supressed though. Wolftone said when he was caught:, 'From my earliest youth I have regarded the connection between Ireland and Great Britain as the curse of the Irish nation, and felt convinced, that while it lasted, this country would never be free or happy. In consequence, I determined to apply all the powers which my individual efforts could move, in order to separate the two countries'.

Ironically, all this rebellion led to the Act of Union in 1800, where the Irish Parliament was closed down as a result of Wolfetone bringing fears of the French invading Ireland to assist the rebellion of 1798!!

Betty_Boop

Thanks a lot for that !! That has really helped!

m1ke

From a broader perspective, their political ideas originated from the American War of Independence and The French Revolution. All of the fundamental ideas of the movement originated from these, and influenced the most important individuals of the day, so understanding these could help place a lot of the primary sources in their proper context.

Typing Dutchman

[font=&quot]In a word: liberals (in the real meaning of the word that is, would be something like social-liberals in modern lingo).[/font]