1796 - 1797 AD

1796 AD January: The founder of Irish Republicanism, Theobold Wolfe Tone, had by now left America and gone over to France to see what assistance he could gain there on behalf of the United Irishmen Societies' call to bring about the Republic of Ireland and rid the population in Ireland of the oppression and tyranny of the British Imperial Government and their oppressive Ascendancies forever. 

February: The British Conservative Government's Dublin authorities introduced an Irish Insurrection Act against any unlawful oaths, which gave them great powers to use against any one at all in Ireland thought not to be towing the British Imperial line, and they were to also suspend the Habeus Corpus Act (Give up the Body) later on in the year while the sectarian attacks were still being carried out against the Irish Catholic population in Lurgan in Co. Armagh in the Ulster Province, and Lord Gosford the British Tory Governor there in Co. Armagh was moved to state, "That the non - Catholics were out to exterminate the Irish Catholics."

     Robert Stewart / Viscount Castlereagh, who would do a complete flip, was also a United Irishman at this time and he was arrested, while pushing for a Catholic Relief Bill, and new taxes were now introduced by the British Tory Government on leather and salt in Ireland, which had "To be paid in cash," and there was now further resistance to the never - ending Ascendancy Church of England / Ireland enforced Tithes, which had to be paid by all of the population in Ireland, regardless of their religion. 

May: The United Irishmen Society and the Irish tenants' supporter group known as the "Defenders" were now joined together in a common purpose.

May - June: Theobold Wolfe Tone, the leader of the United Irishmen Society, who had Belfast in the north - east of the Ulster Province as their main centre, hailed the new order in Europe with its French Republic, which he believed would subvert the Monarchists throughout the World who continued to retard the development of the "Common Man" and would bring about true democrac as he saw it as an opportunity at last that would finally bring some Justice and Liberty against the oppression of all the "despots" in Europe, and this was why "Democracy" was so frightening to the Monarchists, and especially to their lackeys / :Placemen." With no chance of gaining their goal now through "Democracy" the United Irishmen Society decided instead to set up their military organization, which was composed mostly of educated Presbyterians, especially those in Co. Antrim and Co. Down in the east of Ulster and over the next 2 years the United Irishmen Society continued to increase their efforts to win over the minds of the rural areas throughout Ireland, whether they were non - Catholic or Irish Catholic to the cause of "Equality, Fraternity and Individual Happiness" for the Common Man.

      Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who was the son of the first English Duke of Leinster and Emily the daughter of the Duke of Richmond, and was married to a French wife, Pamela de Genlis who was a cousin to Louis Philippe who was destined to be a future French King, lived in Leinster House in Dublin that would eventually become the Dail / Irish Parliament building for the Irish Free State in the future after the Anglo - Irish War in 1922 AD would return 26 Counties to Ireland from the 32 altogether. He too also joined the United Irishmen Society, due to the frustration that he saw still occurring all around him, as did  Arthur O Connor, who had been educated at Trinity College also, and Henry Munroe was to become the United Irishmen's leader in Co. Down in the south - east of Ulster. Meanwhile the leaders of the United Irishmen Society in Belfast in Co. Antrim in the Ulster Province were arrested after the Habeus Corpus Act in Ireland had been suspended by the British Government's Dublin Castle authorities, and among these was William Orr who was another Ulster Presbyterian for administering the United Irishman's Oath, and Thomas Russell was also arrested and imprisoned  

      General Lake who was to be the British Imperial Government's Military Commanding Officer in the Ulster Province, who was was a "really nasty vicious" individual, was to carry out torture on the population there for 12 months, until they became an unled mass of bitter men, who were also unarmed and helpless, until between 500 to 600 were arrested there, while the United Irishmen's houses were deliberately burnt down, and whole villages forced to sleep outdoors during the nights, when the suspected "massacres" were being carried out by General Lake, and 70 men from 4 ships were also put before a British Imperial Government Court Martial for having "revolutionary ideas." The Insurrection Act against unlawful Oaths was also brought in, and this was to mean the end of the "Defenders" who had been trying to protect the tenants who were always under attack.

     Theobold Wolfe Tone, the founder of the United Irishmen Society, had by now convinced the new French Government, that he had 150,000 United Irishmen members back in Ireland, who were waiting for the opportunity to free themselves and the population of Ireland from the incessant British Imperial Government tyranny.     

September: John Jeffreys Pratt / Lord Camden the British Imperial Government Viceroy in Ireland, introduced the "Yeomanry" class into Ireland, who were to be recruited by the Land Lords themselves from their own tenants on their Estates, who were therefore now basically all non - Catholics, while the British Militia at this time was composed mostly of all Catholic Irish who had been "conscripted" by the British Conservative Tory Government.

December 15th: The French Government gave Theobold Wolfe Tone a fleet of 43 ships and 15,000 of their men, and he set out to sail to Ireland from Brest in France, intending to arrive at Bantry Bay in Co. Cork in Southern Munster, but on the way as fate would have it, they ran into a violent gale where General Hoche, the overall French commander, was lost in the storm, and the 8,000 men who were under his particular command were also lost in the fog and were never to reach Ireland.

December 21st: The loss of General Hoche and the 8,000 men under his command was still unknown to Theobold Wolfe Tone who eventually arrived into Ireland himself with only 25 of the ships and 7,000 troops on the west coast of Ireland,at Bantry Bay in Co. Cork to await the further arrival of General Hoche, but the Atlantic storms only became more violent and on being advised of the loss of General Hoche there was then disagreement about landing in Ireland at all, and Grouchy the commander of Wolf Tone's deployment of ships cut the cables, and the rest of the French contingent then returned to France. This close encounter with the French revolutionaries really upset the British Imperial Government's Dublin Castle authorities, and a wholesale arrest of the United Irishmen leaders then occurred and a reign of real terror was now begun on the ordinary members of the United Irishmen Society, who were generically known as "croppies," as they wore their hair short like the French revolutionaries. They had previously been given this name by the vicious insatiable British Military commander, General Lake who was to continue to carry out terrible atrocities against them, first in the Ulster Province, then in the Leinster Province and the Munster Province for over a year, until they toom finally became an unled mass of  desperate people who were filled only with hate. (Theobold Wolfe Tone was to be still in France while nearly all of the main leaders of the United Irishmen Society were arrested within the Ulster Province).

      Meanwhile the "Orange Society / Order" by now was tightly defined as hierarchical as a national organization, and it enjoined it's members to support German George 111 the British Hanoverian King, as he totally supported the Ascendancy.

      All of this particular mayhem was being allowed to occur now due to the fact that British Conservative Tory Government under William Pitt - the Younger had their own long term agenda for Ireland. as it  had been decided it was now time to create an Immoral Union of England also with Ireland,  just as had been done previously to Scotland when only a selected 220 people were allowed to vote and Bribes and Positions had been handed out enmasse to ensure they also had the numbers at that time to bring it about "legally." It was expected that  the 100 M.P.s that would be elected to represent Ireland in this Immoral Union also, would then be lost in the  superior numbers of the Westminster Parliament in England, just as had already occurred to the members from Wales and Scotland and they could then be sure that any "reform ideas" in the future that might be put up by the Irish representatives, would certainly be lost in the numbers also, but even this proposition upset Lord Chatham who objected to the proposition, stating that,100 Irish representatives would strengthen the "democratic side" of the Westminster Parliament. 

      The Jacobine Doctrine had previously stated, that "No Parliament had the right to pass an Act taking away the Constitution of Ireland and give dominion to those in England without the consent of the Irish Nation" and the British Imperial Tory Conservative Government under William Pitt - the Younger had to find a way around it, and with a 137,000 British Military force now in Ireland they had no trouble in getting rid of the 63 members who "opposed" their agenda in the Ascendancy Anglo - Irish House of Commons. They went about replacing them with the right "Placemen" to suite, together with some English and staff officers, men who owned no land in Ireland at all, therefore had no interest at all in Ireland until they eventually were to instal 72  "Placemen" and "Pensioners" into the Ascendancy Anglo - Irish House of Commons, by managing to grant 54 Peerages,offering Borough Holders 1,260,000 pounds for their the sale of their Ascendancy Seats, which had entitled them to 2 votes each. To further ensure that their overall position was now really strong they also granted a host of "Minor Pensions," while personal threats and the use of disgrace were used on any others who were opposed, and large sums of money also were sent over to Ireland to bribe the "Press" and anyone who they considered useful were against or indecisive about their agenda. This was to bring together the most Corrupt Parliament that there ever had been created, which was then to ensure the passage of the Immoral Act of Union, with only 7 members present in the chamber who had not been bribed in some way or another.  

     The construction of the Four Courts was completed this year adjacent to the River Liffey in Dublin in the north - east of Southern Leinster to handle all of the Irish offenders, at a cost of 200,000 pounds, which was no mean amount in those days.

    The Killorglin Castle / Castle Conway had originally belonged to the Heberian Eoghanacht Moriartys, and then the Heberian Eoghanacht Chaisil Mac Carthys, and then the Anglo - Irish Fitz Geralds was now under the control of the Blennerhassetts, who were an English family who had originally come into Ireland from Cumberland, who had settled there in Co. Kerry in Southern Munster and it was this year once again sold on to Thomas Mullins of Burnham, who then became the English first Earl of Ventry.

    This year a Catholic Cathedral was also constructed at Waterford on the coast of Co. Waterford in the south - east of the Munster Province.

1797 AD March: General Lake, the "sadistic" British Imperial Military commander, was now sent into Belfast in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the Ulster Province, were he was given great powers and no restraint by Lord Camden the British Tory Government Viceroy in Ireland and the British Dublin Castle authorities, and he was then to carry out further dreadful atrocities on the general population there and these terrible exreme actions being committed by the British Imperial Government in Ireland under the direction of William Pitt - the Younger the British Tory Conservative Prime Minister were the forerunners of even much worse things to come - for what purpose?

April: The printing press of the United Irishmen Societies' paper the "Northern Star" was destroyed this month, as the brutal terror campaign continued on in the Ulster Province under the sickening aggressive General Lake, while the Presbyterian ministers there called on the population to show restraint, and to await further "democratic reforms," although they all knew by now that there would not be any forthcoming, but naturally also the population there who were subject to this terrible terror were by now in no mood to listen anyway. The dreadful oppression being carried out by the British Tory Government's Dublin Castle authorities was now extended throughout the rest of Ireland, especially into the Leinster Province, and the Munster Province, which were the main areas now for what was left of the remaining "Defenders," who were also now linked up with the United Irishmen Society while Henry Grattan the Irish Patriot leader in the Opposition in the Ascendancy Anglo - Irish Parliament made a plea for concessions to be made to stop any chance of rebellion, but his calls only fell on deaf ears. (The Immoral Union with England was now the only thing on William Pitt - the Younger's and the British Conservative Tory Government's minds, and the constant increasing turmoil they were helping to create, regardless of the many deaths and overall misery to the general population in Ireland, they knew full well would assist to bring it about.

May: Henry Grattan, the leader of the Irish Patriot Opposition in the Ascendancy Anglo - Irish Parliament, once again made a last desperate effort to introduce a further Reform Bill, which was again defeated, and he was now completely frustrated, and in disgust he withdrew from the Ascendancy Anglo - Irish House of Commons altogether in protest at what was being allowed to occur.

July: Robert Stewart / Lord Castlereagh, who was the nephew of Lord Camden the appointed British Viceroy, was now appointed the Keeper of the Signet, as he was by now a British Conservative Tory Government supporter also, and was for the Immoral Union of Ireland with England, naively believing it would solve all the problems that had been allowed to occur in Ireland. 

Summer: General Elections were held with no chance at all of bringing in any change by the elected reformers in the totally stacked Ascendancy Anglo - Irish  Parliament, with the remaining United Irishmen members by now well and truly determined to overthrow the Ascendancy Government and Lord Edward Fitzgerald, the twelfth child of the twentieth Earl of Kildare / first Duke of Leinster, was still in there as one of those trying to bring in reforms in the Parliament, and in desperation of this ever occurring, he too had since joined the United Irishmen Society also, who were now linked to the Catholic Irish tenant farmers as their only "Defenders."

     Fermoy in Co. Cork in Southern Munster previously sold by its Scottish owner to the British Imperial Government was to remain a British Government Army Barracks up until it would be taken over by the Irish Free State in 1921 AD, when the British Imperial Government  would finally be gone out of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, after the successful political and guerrilla warfare campaign then to be carried out by the members of the "political" Sinn Fein Party / We Ourselves in total desperation also at that time.

    Mallow Castle situated in Co. Cork at this time was held by the Anglo - Irish Jephson family who had been in Ireland since the beginning of the 17th Century AD.

    Edmund Burke the Statesman, who had been educated in a Quaker school, and was the most influential political thinker of his day, whose mother and wife were Catholics, died this year and he had previously committed his son to run a society that was dedicated to Irish Catholic Emancipation (The right to vote).

October: Napoleon Bonaparte's white horse Marengo had been bred at Kilmuckeridge in Co. Wexford in the south - east of Southern Leinster Province, while Copenhagen ridden by the Duke of Wellington was from Cahirmie Fair in Co. Cork in Southern Munster.

     Once again the Irish were to be made the ham in the sandwich when Napoleon Bonaparte sent a second force to Ireland under General Hardy to the Battle of Camperdown, which was defeated by Duncan, while he massed his own troops in the French Channel Islands, and William Pitt - the Younger the Conservative British Tory Prime Minister was aware that there would be no further troops now for Ireland.  

November: Sir Ralph Abercromby the British Commander in Chief tried to reign in the behaviour of the British Militia under his command, which previously had been allowed to run amuck in Ireland, and he was moved to personally comment that, "Every crime, every cruelty, that could be committed by Cossack or Calmucks has been transacted here against the Irish people." John "Black Jack" Fitzgibbon the hard - line anti - Catholic who was also the leader of the Ascendancy in Ireland and main "Undertaker" for the British Conservative Government, called him a "Scotch Beast who had lost his senses," and used pressure for the Dublin Castle authorities to have him forced out of Ireland and compelled to resign. 

December: There was by now truly great turmoil throughout Ireland, but the remaining leaders of the United Irishmen Society could not bring themselves to engage in a full scale rebellion against the British Imperial Government's oppression, without back up from the revolutionaries in France and in the Ulster Province alone they had previously had 110,000 members, but the region there had since been bought under control by the British Government's Dublin Castle authorities with the unending brutal tactics carried out by their General Lake and his British Imperial Government Militia. In the Leinster Province, where they still had 68,000 supporters, and the Munster Province, were their following was 100,000, they were awaiting orders to begin total resistance there, although there was also some individual intermittent struggles being carried out against the terrible oppressive measures being used by the Dublin Castle authorities in that region.

                                                                                                                                               " The Population of Ireland was by now in Total Distress."

    "Wearing of the Green" - "O Paddy dear, and did you hear the news that's going round, The shamrock is by law forbid to grow on Irish ground, No more St. Patrick's day we'll keep, his colour can't be seen, For there's a cruel law again the Wearing of the Green," I met with Napper Tandy, and he took me by the hand, and he said, "How's poor Old Ireland, and how does she stand,  She's the most distressful Country that ever yet was seen, For they're hanging men and women there for the Wearing of the Green, So if the colour we must wear be England's cruel red, Let it remind us of the blood that Irishmen have shed, and pull the shamrock from your hat, and throw it on the sod, But never fear, it will take root there, though underfoot its trod, When laws can stop the blades of grass from growing as they grow, and when the leaves in Summer - time their colours dare not show, Then I will change the colour too I wear in my Caubeen, But till that day, please God, I`ll stick to the Wearing of the Green."

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