Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763 - 1798)
Barrister, co-founder of the Society of United Irishmen, Leader of the
1798 Rising
and Father of Irish Republicanism
Theobald
Wolfe Tone, the eldest of five children was born in Dublin, Ireland in
1763 to Peter Tone and Margaret Lampor. Tone's father was a prosperous
coach-maker and the owner of a farm near Bodenstown, Co. Kildare. He was
also a member of the Church of Ireland. Growing up as a child of the
gentry, Tone lived a privileged lifestyle, insulated from the general
populace, unaware of their plight. Possessed with a keen intellect he
won a scholarship to Trinity College in Dublin. During his student
years, he met and married
Matilda Witherington who bore him four children
three of whom died prematurely. After completing his studies, he was
admitted to the Irish Bar.
By
1790 the fallout from the French Revolution was having a profound effect
on the Irish people who were the long-suffering victims of government
corruption, penal laws and a myriad of repressive measures enacted to
protect England’s commercial interests in Ireland. Consequently,
numerous clubs and committees were formed to agitate for parliamentary
reform and the repeal of the Penal Laws.
Tone, together with William Drennan, Thomas Russell and other close
friends set up one such club to discuss the current state of affairs in
Ireland and in concert, articulate an argument for change. Motivated by
the tenor and intellectual bent of their discussions,
Tone authored and published a pamphlet “An
Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland”
that laid out the case for Catholic emancipation. The pamphlet was a
rebuke to
Henry Grattan’s statement in
support of the British connection in the summer of 1790.
John Keogh, and other leaders of the Catholic Committee were impressed
by Tone’s pamphlet. The Catholic Committee was formed some years
earlier by wealthy Catholics
for the purpose of looking after Catholic interests by securing a
relaxation or repeal of the penal laws.
Keogh offered and Tone accepted the job of
paid secretary to the Committee.
His subsequent work on behalf of the Committee helped it secure a
modicum of relief when the British parliament passed the Catholic Relief
Act of 1791. However, the benefits derived thereof, were muted by the
passing of subsequent repressive acts that stymied the exercise of the
rights set forth in the Relief Act.
In
October of 1791, Tone was invited by
Samuel Neilson
and Henry Joy McCracken to a meeting to discuss the feasibility
of establishing an organization to pursue Catholic Emancipation and
Parliamentary Reform. Tone accepted the invite and, together with Thomas
Russell, a fellow Anglican, met with Neilson, McCracken and seven other
Presbyterian reformers in Belfast. Arising from that meeting, the
Society of United Irishmen,
was founded on October 18,
1791.
The following
Statement of Intent coined by Tone in
outlining the aims of the Society, became the mantra of successive
generations of Irish Republican leaders from Robert Emmet to Padraic
Pearse who, like Tone himself, shouldered the mantle of martyrdom for
Irish freedom.
To subvert the tyranny of our execrable Government, break the connection
with England, the never-failing source of our political evils, and to
assert the independence of my
country—these were my objects. To unite the whole people of
Ireland, to abolish the memory of our past dissensions
and to substitute the common name of
Irishmen in place of the denomination of Protestant, Catholic and
Dissenter—these were my means.
Three weeks later, on November 9, 1791, Tone together with
James
Napper Tandy established a
branch of the Society in
Dublin. Shortly thereafter, on January 1, 1792, a newspaper
called the Northern Star, edited by Samuel Neilson, was
launched in Belfast. The newspaper promoted the Society’s ideas by
demanding “a society of equality which would include people of all
religious persuasions-and of none”.
Shortly after the outbreak of war between France and Britain in
February of 1793 the British parliament passed, within the space of a
few years, several repressive laws to prevent an Irish rebellion and/or
a French invasion. These acts, primarily aimed at the Society of United
Irishmen and the Defenders. a
Catholic agrarian secret society,
included the Proclamation for the Preventing of Tumultuous
Meetings and Seditious Writings Act, the Traitorous Correspondence Act,
the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, the Treasonable Practices, and the
Seditious Meetings Act.
Instead
of causing the Society’s demise as the British expected, the Society
reorganized itself into a Republican underground revolutionary movement
dedicated to securing Ireland’s independence by any means possible,
including force. The inclusion of force by the Society was a departure
from the peaceful means espoused in their original manifesto.
In April of 1794, Irish-born William Jackson, an emissary of the French
government, was sent to Ireland to ascertain the
Society of United Irishmen readiness to support a French invasion.
Enroute Jackson stopped off in England where he divulged details of his
mission to his friend John Cockayne. Afterwards he continued his journey
to Ireland where met with Tone and other members of the Society in
Archibald Hamilton Rowan
cell in Newgate prison to discuss and draft a response for the French
government. The letter of response, authored by Tone, stated that the
Society would support and participate in a French invasion.
In
the meantime, Cockayne, an Englishman, had informed the British
government of Jackson’s mission. After Cockayne betrayed, Jackson’s
movements were observed and before he could return to France was
arrested in possession of Tone’s letter. The ‘seditious’ nature of the
letter’s content exposed Tone and other meeting attendees to arrest on
charges of treason. Jackson’s arrest sent those named in the letter into
hiding or exile.
Archibald Hamilton Rowan realizing that his situation was tenuous at
best,
made good his escape after convincing his jailer
to allow him to visit his wife on the pretense of signing legal
documents. Tone, whose friends intervened on his behalf, was allowed to
leave Ireland or face trial for treason. Due to political disturbances
in England spearheaded by reformers inspired by the French revolution,
he was able to delay his departure for a year or caused by a change of
government in England. In May of 1795, aware that time was running out,
he settled his affairs and left Dublin for Belfast, his port of
departure for the American colonies. Before departing Belfast, he
met with Russell and McCracken on Cavehill, located on the outskirts of
Belfast, where they vowed, “Never to desist in our efforts until we
subvert the authority of England over our country and asserted our
independence” in what became known as the 'Cavehill compact'.
On
13th June Tone and his family sailed in the Cincinnatus for
Wilmington, Delaware arriving there on August 1, 1795. Enroute the
Cincinnatus was boarded by officers from a British cruiser, who
impressed fifty passengers and all but one of the crew. Luckily for
Tone, intervention by his wife saved him from the same fate. From
Wilmington, Tone and his family proceeded to Philadelphia their final
destination. Philadelphia, the U.S. capital at that time. was the
destination chosen by other exiled members of the Society of United
Irishmen including
Archibald Hamilton
Rowan.
Shortly after his arrival in
Philadelphia
he met with
Pierre Auguste Adet, the French Minister to the United States to apprise
him of state of affairs in Ireland and to let him know that the Society
of United Irishmen and its allies, the Defenders, were ready to support
a French invasion. Having completed that task, he turned his attention
to establishing a home for his family in the new world. While in the
process of purchasing a farm near Princeton in New Jersey he received a
letter from the leadership of the Revolutionary movement in Ireland
imploring him to depart for France to urge the French government to
launch an invasion as the situation in Ireland was ripe for rebellion.
After consulting with his friend Hamilton Rowan and Adet he set sail for
France on January 1, 1796, arriving in Le Harve a month later. After a
year of cajoling representatives of the French government he succeeded
in convincing them to send an invasion force to Ireland to assist the
revolutionary forces there to oust the British and establish a Republic.
He enumerated how a successful revolution would also be of benefit to
them. It would 1) lessen British power, 2) provide an
abundant source of willing recruits for their army and navy and 3)
empower an ally will a deep-rooted hatred for the British.
After receiving confirmation from Lord Edward FitzGerald that Tone was
representing the Revolutionary movement in Ireland the French government
set about preparing for a landing in Ireland in support of the pending
revolution. On December 16, 1796, an expedition consisting of
forty-three vessels and 15,000 soldiers set sail from Brest under the
command of General Louis Lazare Hoche. Tone, posing as Adjutant-general Smith, was aboard
the flagship
Indomitable, with General
Hoche. Arriving of the Kerry coast they were unable to land due gale
force winds. The waited for six days of Bantry Bay for the winds to
ease, before returning to France.
Shortly after arriving back in France, in the early days of January
1797, he received word that his wife,
Matilda, and their children had arrival in Hamburg. He was unable to
join them there as he was ordered to report for service in the Army of
Sambre-et-Meuse; a
department
of the First
French Empire;
located in what is now
Belgium.
General Hoche, his commanding officer, and a close friend granted him a
short leave of absence the following May, to visit his family in
Groningen.
In July of 1797, the French government sanctioned the deployment of
another
expeditionary force to Ireland,
using the Dutch fleet captured at Den Hedler in 1795. General Hoche
allowed Tone to accompany the expedition. On July 8, Tone boarded the
admiral’s ship, ‘Vryheid’ with General Daendels the expedition’s
commander. As the expedition prepared to leave
Oudeschild Harbor on
Texel Island, the wind changed keeping it bottled up in port. By the
time the winds subsided, an overwhelming British fleet was waiting at
the mouth of the Marsdiep channel to do battle when the Dutch fleet
entered the North Sea. Faced with no viable option, the fleet stayed
put, resulting in the cancellation of the expedition.
In September of 1797 after the aborted expedition, Tone journeyed to
Wetzlar in Germany (France's Rhine frontier) to consult with Hoche
regarding another expedition to Ireland. By then the need for French
help was urgent as the United Irishmen and their Allies, the Defenders
had to act before ongoing British instigated sectarian riots took a toll
on their numbers and cohesiveness. Sectarianism was the preferred tool
used by the British in Ireland to implement their divide and rule
policy.
Within days of arriving in Wetzlar Hoche passed away from tuberculosis,
leaving Tone within a major problem. Tone only viable option was to
appeal to Napoleon Bonaparte who, at that time, was planning for an
Egyptian expedition and had little or no interest in another Irish
expedition.
In May of 1798 when the Rising began in Ireland, Napoleon was on his way
to Egypt, necessitating Tone to appeal directly to the French government
for help. All they were willing to contribute was the launching of a
series of simultaneous landings around the Irish coast. Of the three
landings, only one, led by General Humbert met with any measure of
success. His expedition landed in Killala in Co. Mayo on August 23.
Four days later, on August 27, Hubert’s forces consisting of 2,000
French troops and an unknown number of Irish insurgents routed a force
of 6,000 British troops at Castlebar. After that victory, Humbert
declared a ‘Republic of Connacht’ and moved his forces eastwards in
hopes of taking Dublin. After crossing the Leitrim/Longford border near
Ballinamuck he came face-to-face with a British force of 30,000 men
under the command of General Cornwallis. Outnumbered five to one and
outgunned, Humbert was forced to surrender. Cornwallis granted safe
passage to the French but slaughtered as many as 1,100 Irish
insurgents.
The second landing took place on September 16, 1798. A contingent of
exiled United Irishmen, led by James Napper Tandy landed on Rutland
Island off the Donegal coast only to learn of General Humbert's defeat
at the Battle of Ballinamuck a week earlier on September the 8th.
Realizing that any further action was futile, Tandy and his men
re-embarked and sailed north to Norway to avoid British warships.
The third expedition consisting of the flagship
Hoche and eight
frigates, transporting 3000 French troops, set sail from Brest on
September 16, for the coast of Donegal. Tone was aboard the flagship
with Admiral Bompart. From the onset, the French fleet were chased by
the British navy and hampered by heavy winds on approaching the west
coast of Ireland. Because of these hazards the fleet was reduced to four
vessels by the time it arrived at Lough Swilly. Before a landing could
be effected a superior fleet of British warships arrived on the scene.
Knowing the outcome of the pending battle, Bompart ordered the
accompanying frigates to make good their escape. Tone was encouraged to
leave but refused stating
"Shall it be said that I fled, whilst the French were fighting the
battles of my country?".
On
October 12,
the
Hoche engaged five British warships in what is referred to as
the
Battle of Tory Island.
For the duration of the battle Tone commanded one of the ships
batteries. After Bompart surrendered, Tone was taken prisoners with the
other survivors.
Tone was taken to Letterkenny with the captured French officers where he
was recognized by Sir George Hill, a Parliament of Ireland MP. He was
placed in handcuffs, transported to Dublin and placed in Provost Prison
at the Royal Barracks, now Collins Barracks. His court-martial took
place On November 10, 1798. Knowing that conviction was a foregone
conclusion and that the verdict would be death, he asked for a soldier’s
death in his pre-sentencing
Speech from the Dock.
General Cornwallis upheld the court-martial findings, refused Tone’s
request for a soldier’s death, and in accordance with British Imperial
policy as applied to rebellious subjects, ordered that he be hanged.
Theobald Wolfe Tone valued honor equally with love of country. He fully
subscribed to the ancient
Roman ethic, that "patriotic suicide" was an acceptable alternative to
dishonor. As a soldier and a man of honor he chose to deny his captors
their final act of inhumanity. In so doing, he severed an artery in his
neck with a penknife. Despite efforts to save his life for the
hangman’s noose, he passed away eight days later on November 19, 1798.
He is commemorated annually at his graveside at Bodenstown, Co. Kildare.
Contributor:
Tomás Ó Coısdealbha
cemetery
NAME:
Bodenstown Churchyard
Cemetery
ADDRESS:
Bodenstown, Co.
Kildare, Ireland
GRAVE
