Liam's Irish Traditional Music - Irelands culture and tradition

As in England rich Protestants led political life in Ireland. Groups of people who had influence created places in power for those who would follow, them personally. Parliamentary parties did not exist as we know them today, and voting was based on a property qualification.

Working-class Protestants could be relied upon to support this system of power, because it upheld their religious beliefs. Catholics were excluded from politics altogether. This gave Protestants a sense of security and resulted in a belief that Irish Anglicans should govern Ireland without the control of the English Parliament. English colonists in America believed similarly that they should govern there, independent of English control.

The American Revolution:

In 1776, the American colonists rose in rebellion against Britain over trade restrictions. This became a full-scale war. Many Irish settlers who had immigrated to America joined the rebel force.

Britain sent troops to America, to quell the rebellion, and some of these were diverted from duty In Ireland. In the absence of these troops. Protestant citizens in Ireland organized themselves into their own special army, which was called the Volunteers. They sympathised with the American cause, and asked Britain to grant them some independence. They became a political force and under the leadership of Henry Grattan the movement grew and forced the British government to relax some of the Laws of Trade, Poyning's Law of 1494 was removed, and some Catholic rights were re-established. Briefly it seemed that in Ireland would regain a great deal of independence, but in 1789 a new threat emerged in European politics

The French Revolution:

Inspired by the success of the American rebel forces, which had won their war of independence, the middle classes of France led a revolution against the monarch, the nobility and the Church. Social and economic distress convinced the ordinary people that they should support the revolution.

Years of social Injustice had been one of the major causes of the French Revolution. This cartoon shows a French peasant carrying a bishop and a nobleman on his back. The wealthy in France did not pay taxes, and the peasants did. The situation in Ireland was similar.

Political Ideas:

Two books were particularly important in shaping people's thoughts. A British writer, Tom Paine, published a book called The Rights of Man in 1791 and 1792. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a French writer, published a book called Du Contrat Social (The Social Contract). One of the most important phrases of the time came from Rousseau's book: I'homme est né libre, et partout il est dans les fers - "Man is born free, and everywhere is in chains". But Paine's work was even more radical in opinion. It attacked the monarchy, rich people and the Church, and said that this system of government should be destroyed.

Paine's ideas spread to Ireland, France and mainland Europe and America. His book was widely read and deeply discussed. It was a best seller in England, and when Part One was published in 1791 it sold 50,000 copies at a cost of 3 shillings a book. Part Two was equally successful. It is estimated that 200,000 copies were sold by 1809. Paine's ideas were not original, but they caught the attention of the reading public at a fortunate time. The British government banned the book because, of its revolutionary ideas.