THE SHUTTING OF THE GATES

This chapter presents a wider challenge to the existing power structures in Ireland during the tumultuous 1790s. It recounts the collapse of the ancien régime in France and divided urban world, then examines how the French Revolution opened up cleavages and profoundly sharpened social and religious divisions. The chapter then introduces Mathew Carey, a Dublin baker's son, who presented his imprudent willingness to articulate in print the enormity of Catholic grievances. His violent criticism of Dublin Castle, of the English connection, and of local political heavyweights ended with his flight to America in disguise in 1784. The chapter also discusses how the local theatre provides some insight as to how far political attitudes shifted. The chapter then shifts to investigate how the two versions of democratic fraternity, the Belfast's first United Irish Society and Dublin United Irish Society, marked the beginnings of radical political organization. It follows the revival of the Catholic Committee in Dublin, and assesses the effects of the removal of the remaining penal laws, especially the firearms ban.