Irish Opinion and the American Revolution, 1760-1783

Description

This ground-breaking study traces the impact of the American Revolution and of the international war it precipitated on the political outlook of each section of Irish society. Morley uses a dazzling array of sources - newspapers, pamphlets, sermons and political songs, including Irish-language documents unknown to other scholars and previously unpublished - to trace the evolving attitudes of the Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian communities from the beginning of colonial unrest in the early 1760s until the end of hostilities in 1783. He also reassesses the influence of the American revolutionary war on such developments as Catholic relief, the removal of restrictions on Irish trade, and Britain's recognition of Irish legislative independence. Morley sheds new light on the nature of Anglo-Irish patriotism and Catholic political consciousness, and reveals the extent to which the polarities of the 1790s had already emerged by the end of the American war.

VINCENT MORLEY was previously a researcher with the Royal Irish Academy and has lectured in Irish history at the National University of Ireland.

'Drawing on a wide range of sources, especially newspapers, pamphlets, vernacular song, and published sermons, Dr Morley charts the evolution of attitudes in Ireland at each stage of the revolution, whether those produced directly through the operation of American example on Irish opinion or indirectly as a result of altered circumstances arising from the war.' Jeremy Black, H-Albion 'One of the merits of the original study, Irish Opinion and the American Revolution, 1760-1783 by Vincent Morley, is the inclusion of Gaelic manuscripts in its impressive array of sources.' Irish Times 'This is an excellent book ... which will become a major reference point for future work on Ireland in the last half of the eighteenth century.' Irish Studies Review