224 years ago today, the famed Irish Patriot Henry Joy McCracken was hanged outside the the Market House in Belfast. His persona overwhelmingly dominates the United Irishman narrative, to the detriment of other large, medium and small players, many of whom did as much or more; gave as much or more, as he did, and are largely forgotten by history.
This is reflective of the intoxicating power of cult of death within the Catholic dominated reconquest nationalism and republicanism that developed after this period.
One of H J McCracken’s first appearances on the historical scene was during a military riot planned against the Northern Star newspaper office, in April 1793, when Captain Barber called him a ‘rascal’. Ouch.
Whilst some wise and profound words are attributed to him, H J McCracken was a fighter and on the ground political activist not a political thinker. Once he became a revolutionary United Irishman, he spent much time in county Armagh, liaising with the Catholic Defenders movement, and trying to get justice for those put out of the homes during anti Catholic pogroms linked to the formation of the Orange Order in 1795 and 1796.
Modern scholarship also suggests he was a senior member of the United Irishman assassination squad, killing informers in and around Belfast.This undercuts the traditional myth, but I don’t hold it against him. The state was vicious in its repression. If you and your comrades were going to be imprisoned, transported or hung, and you family left destitute, by an informer, you can’t just sit idle. What would you do? Whether you’ve got the right person or not, is another question entirely.
He was arrested in October 1796 and spent over a year in jail in Dublin, with many other political prisoners, before he was released due to ill health in December 1797. He entered the history books in June 1798, when he took over command of Antrim United Irishmen and led them to heroic defeat at Antrim Town, and was subsequently executed himself.
For nationalists/republicans he resides among the ranks of Ireland’s patriotic dead. This is a subject that is open to many dubious, intolerant and fabricated interpretations. His death doesn’t inspire me, I am inspired by the deeds of the living.
His deeds, whilst undoubtedly courageous, especially towards the end, are less interesting to me than the deeds, artistic and otherwise of poet James Orr, who was a United Irish fighter under his command. For me H J McCracken takes his place as a person of equal interest, with many other figures.
Disturbingly, H J McCracken’s name is commonly appropriated by modern republicans whose capacity for tolerating the Ulster-Scots Presbyterian group that gave him his collective political and military power, is far from certain. Nationalist Ireland is veering towards a narrowed populism at the present time, with many young people buying into myths, that stand no probing.
There is absolutely no link between a heroic death and a good political idea. Hundreds of thousands of German soldiers did bravely for Nazism.
On another level Wolf Tone’s famed ‘Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter’ reference is thrown out as if it was carved on a stone tablet delivered by God, on Carrantoohil, rather than words that need careful analysis, and interpretation.
Contrary to common nationalist narratives, the story of the United Irishmen was not excised from the unionist psyche that evolved after this time, but continued to exist as a small sub-current, that never quite went away. Ballycarry, a strongly unionist village, celebrates their man James Orr and his legacy.
Often as not, these days it isn’t 1798, whose name daren’t be spoken.
H J McCracken and the United Irishmen were important because they carried a significant portion of protestant populist feeling with them.No nationalist group can claim this today, though that may change over time.
Members of the same minority H J McCracken was in, most now unionists, need to be allowed to create their own narratives about this time, whether they are within the orbit of acceptablity for traditional nationalists/republicans or not.
Human Rights work putting collective protections in place needs to be undertaken. The new Ulster-Scots National Minority Designation may help.
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