Local experience of the 1798 rebellion: a comparative context

In order to reconstruct four local worlds in late eighteenth-century Ireland, this thesis will investigate the differing effects the Rebellion of 1798 had upon them. In order to assess how religious, political, social and key demographic factors may have influenced a locality’s experience of the Rebellion of 1798, the study engages with a cross section of contemporary population centres and examines events in their locality under a number of themes that will allow for comparison across regions. The objective of this research is not to investigate the Rebellion of 1798 in a local context in exhaustive detail per se, rather it is intended to examine the structure of the selected areas in the late eighteenth century and to evaluate, at a time of conflict, the nature and workings of these societies. By investigating these societies as they came under strain, it is anticipated that the ensuing tensions will reveal aspects of these societies which may have not been otherwise discernible. By extension, this thesis will develop a research framework through which local societies may be considered in a regional context; a theme that has been somewhat lacking in studies of late eighteenth-century Ireland