The Power of Place

Abstract

This chapter describes the origins of the Society of United Irishmen. This organization was inspired by republicanism. To many observers, creating a republic in Ireland presented an opportunity to create a nation in a unified sense, overcoming through shared commitment to republican ideas of equality the divisions that were responsible for the political corruption and economic backwardness of the country. This was what had happened in France, where a diverse and divided nation was becoming a unified, and singularly powerful, republican patrie. Indeed, the links between the United Irishmen and French republicans were especially strong from 1792, with many prominent figures in the movement spending time in Paris.