Ireland and the Age of Revolutions

Join us at the ICCWNE on Tuesday, June 2 at 6 pm to learn about the American Revolution’s influence in Ireland. In this talk, Dr. Ian Delahanty, associate professor of history at Springfield College, explains how the American Revolution set off a chain of events in Ireland that culminated not with an independent Irish nation but instead with Ireland brought even more closely within the British Empire.

This event is free and open to all – please register ahead. Doors open at 5 pm – enjoy the pub or the patio. The Trinity Pub bar will be open for purchase; light appetizers to be served. To support the ICC and help offset costs, we kindly suggest a donation of $5 – $10 at the door if able.

About the Presentation
While Irish Americans’ military service in the Revolutionary War helped to secure the United States’ independence from the British Empire, Ireland’s revolutionary moment in the late-eighteenth century was a different story. Inspired by the rhetoric of liberty broadcasted from the American Revolution and the utopian ideals of French revolutionaries, many Ulster Presbyterians committed themselves to the creation of an independent, non-sectarian Irish nation. Meanwhile, Catholics in Ireland confronted a dilemma: could loyalty to the British Empire in its hour of crisis convince British lawmakers to eliminate once and for all religious discrimination, or should they find common cause with the Presbyterian radicals who encouraged them to unite across sectarian lines in the name of independence? Through it all, the Anglo-Irish Protestant ascendancy aimed to maintain its position at the top of Ireland’s political and social hierarchy, especially once the Age of Revolutions arrived on Irish shores in the form French soldiers.

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Host or Publisher Irish Cultural Center of Western New England