‘I hope the Defenders have rallied to you’: The United Irishmen, Defenders and Popular Loyalism
Schedule
Tue, 24 Feb, 2026 at 01:00 pm
UTC+00:00Location
2 North Queen Street , BT15 1ES Belfast, United Kingdom | Belfast, NI
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The 1798 Rebellion in Ulster was concentrated on the counties of Antrim and Down. Earlier attempts to create a revolutionary alliance between the United Irishmen and the Defenders had raised the prospect of an irresistible force capable of changing the political landscape forever. These hopes had largely evaporated by the year of the Rebellion as internal dissension and the emergence of popular loyalism undermined the possibility of a successful insurrection. This talk by Ken Dawson explores the complexity of the unfolding situation and the extent of the ‘Turnout’ in 1798.Our Speaker: Ken Dawson
Ken Dawson is a recently retired teacher. He has been researching the United Irishmen for over twenty years and is the author of a number of articles on the subject. In 2017 Irish Academic Press published his biography of the leading United Irishman Samuel Neilson (The Belfast Jacobin) and he is currently researching the impact of informers in the years leading up to the Rebellion of 1798.
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Where is it happening?
2 North Queen Street , BT15 1ES Belfast, United Kingdom, 16a North Queen Street, Belfast, BT15 1ES, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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