Principal Players |
 |
THE MILITIA In light of United Irish unrest, every parish in Ireland, by a 1795 act of parliament, had to contribute young men to the county regiment of militia. To lessen the chance of defections, a regiment was normally posted somewhere in Ireland far from home. Government forces at the Battle of Antrim: The Second Light Battalion: the 64th Regiment of Foot + Armagh Militia + Monaghan Militia + Kerry Militia + Dublin Militia + Tipperary Militia + 150 of the 22nd Light Dragoons; The Belfast Cavalry and a troop of the 2nd Light Dragoons and the Antrim Yeomanry. THE YEOMANRY The Government feared that the United Irish had succeeded in secretly recruiting perhaps as many as 2,200 (Catholic) militiamen; for example, in May 1798, 4 soldiers of the Monaghan Militia were discovered to have taken the oath of the United Irishmen and were shot for High Treason. As soldiers transferred to various barracks, the influence of the United Irish cause would be spread further. In the event of any United Irish uprising, there was the high probability that militiamen might defect. Meanwhile, they could procure arms and ammunition and provide military training for the United Irish civilians. Accordingly, in October 1796, the Irish parliament legislated for the provision of local defence corps: the 'Gentlemen and Yeomanry Cavalry and Volunteer Infantry'. Armed and trained by the local Anglo-Irish (Ascendancy) landowners (the 'Gentlemen'), yeomanry corps enrolled many from the Orange movement. Presbyterian historian, W.T. Latimer judged: "The Presbyterians who hated the Catholic more than the Landlord became Orangemen; those who hated the Landlord more than the Catholic became United Irishmen". In Antrim, the yeomanry reported for duty to Major Seddon, Commandant at Antrim Castle. Lord Massereene of Antrim Castle complained bitterly when the government refused him the captaincy of the Antrim yeomanry in preference for Rev. George Macartney, Vicar of Antrim. The Hon. Chichester Skeffington THE SOCIETY OF UNITED IRISHMEN The French Revolution (1789) inspired Ulstermen with the idea of reforming the undemocratic Irish parliament. Presbyterian Antrim readily swore allegiance to a political brotherhood for all religious persuasions, established in Belfast in October 1791: the Society of United Irishmen. The powerful landowners viewed this as a serious threat to their local political power. Events gradually provoked many Antrim Presbyterians to embrace revolutionary separatism. From 1796, the United Irishmen in Ulster (declared illegal) adopted a secret, hierarchical military command structure, requiring all members to swear an oath of allegiance. The rebellion in Antrim was not characterised by any stereotypical sectarian division. Antrim was almost wholly Presbyterian. HENRY JOY McCRACKEN When United Irish leaders abandoned all idea of an uprising, the legendary Henry Joy McCracken unexpectedly found himself elected Adjutant-General of the Ulster United Irishmen. His appointment came just hours before he found himself in command at the historic Battle of Antrim. JAMES HOPE Templepatrick's James Hope was a key (political and military) national figure in both the 1798 Rebellion and Emmet's Rebellion of 1803. The most stalwart of McCracken's commanders at Antrim, Hope led something of a charmed life, escaping the worst that eventually befell his comrades.
|
