Irish rebellion of 1798

1798 rebellion during the French Revolutionary Wars

The Irish rebellion of 1798 was an uprising of Irish people against British rule in Ireland. It was led by Wolfe Tone and consisted primarily of a secret society called the United Irish. It was aided by Republican France. However, it never gained much traction due to its alliance with anti-Catholic France, because Ireland was primarily Catholic. Despite the British government's anti-Catholicism, most Irish Catholics supported the Crown as the lesser of two evils because of the issue of Revolutionary France's involvement. The uprising lasted several months. A group called the United Irishmen were the main driving force in the rebellion. They were influenced by revolutions taking place in America and France around the time. The uprising is also known as United Irishmen Rebellion.

United Irishmen Rebellion (1798)

Battle of Vinegar Hill, 21 June 1798
Date24 May – 24 September 1798 (4 months)
Location
Result Rebellion crushed · Act of Union (1800)
Belligerents
United Irishmen
Defenders
 France
 Great Britain
 Ireland
Commanders and leaders
Wolfe Tone
Henry Joy McCracken
Lord Edward FitzGerald
John Murphy
France Jean Humbert
Kingdom of Great Britain General George Warde
Kingdom of Great Britain MGO Charles Cornwallis
Kingdom of Great Britain Lt. Gen. Gerard Lake
Kingdom of Ireland Viscount Castlereagh
Strength


50,000 United Irishmen
France
~1,100 French Units

10–15 ships[1]

Kingdom of Great Britain
~30,000 Regulars
~40,000 Militia
~25,000 Yeomanry

~1,000 Hessians

Between 10.000 and 50.000 people died as casualties on the Irish side, between 500 and 2000 on the English side.

References

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