Category: United Irishmen

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…

JULY 14 is Bastille Day in France. 230 years ago in Belfast a French Revolution Commemoration was held, with Irish Volunteer Companies from the town and surrounding hinterland paraded out to the Falls Road review field, held a review, then paraded back. Events marking ‘Bastille Day’ have been taking place again in Belfast in recent…

INTERESTING editorial, to add to the ‘Planter and Gael’ debacle, from the United Irishmen’s newspaper the Northern Star St Patrick’s Day 1797, just weeks before it was closed and the presses smashed. Note how the Presbyterian United Irish men knew their origin (in Scotland), with the last main phases of migration only pittering out barely…

Whilst rhetoric playing the person, not the issue, or language inciting hatred or illegality is unacceptable, the recent report by UN Human Rights Experts on Colin Harvey is disturbing, for more than one reason. The body of evidence used to substantiate the report is not, to my knowledge, on the public record so we can…

NATIVE Irish, Catholic, Gaelic duality of response to the arrival of the Ulster-Scots Presbyterians in Ireland reaches absolutely striking proportions on some occasions.  None more so than Catholic priest and United Irishmen Fr James Coigly, who wrote his personal testament in Maidstone in 1798, as he awaited execution. In the opening lines he asserts without…

Paddy Mayne needs to take his place with Paddy Pearse, Bernard Montgomery with Henry Joy McCracken.