Hearts of Steel

Throughout the eighteenth century in Ireland, local secret societies such as the [http://users.cis.net/daver/bl_hisns.htm#hearts "Hearts of Steel"] and the "Hearts of Oak" had sprung up, dedicated to defending their members, generally the poorest tenants. This tradition, along with the influence of the French and American Revolutions, provided the background for the United Irishmen, an organization dedicated to republican ideals and incorporating Catholic, Presbyterian and Anglo-Irish radicals. On May 23rd 1798, a rebellion against British rule organized by the United Irishmen broke out, with risings in Meath, Carlow, Wicklow, Dublin and Wexford in the East, Antrim and Down in Ulster, and, with the assistance of a French invasion, in Mayo in the West. Over the course of the next six months, the rebellion was crushed by the British, at great cost to lives and property; over 30,000 people died, and a million pounds worth of property was destroyed. The failure of the 1798 rebellion resulted in increased pressure for the union of Ireland and Britain. The subsequent abolition of the Irish self-government was one of the reasons for the huge growth in emigration in the nineteenth century.

References

* [http://scripts.ireland.com/ancestor/magazine/emigration/ulster.htm Irish Ancestors]
* [http://users.cis.net/daver/bl_hisns.htm#hearts Hearts of Steel]