Tone, Theobald Wolfe

Tone, Theobald Wolfe (1763–98), radical. Born in Dublin, the son of an initially prosperous Protestant tradesman, Tone was educated at Trinity College and qualified as a barrister. He initially sought the favour of the Irish Whigs, but quickly became disillusioned with their moderation. An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland (1791), insisting on the common political interests uniting Protestants and Catholics, attracted much attention and led to an invitation to take part in the establishment later that year of the United Irish movement. In July 1792 Tone became secretary to the Catholic Committee and was one of the delegation sent to London by the Catholic Convention. Having been compromised by the Revd Jackson, he agreed in 1795 to go into exile in America. From there he travelled to France in February 1796 and embarked on a highly successful diplomatic mission aimed at persuading the Directory to support an Irish insurrection. Having earlier accompanied the Hoche expedition, he sailed in September 1798 with another force, was captured off the Irish coast, and committed suicide while under sentence of death.

Tone is widely regarded as a founding father of modern Irish republicanism. His grave at Bodenstown, Co. Kildare, is the site of annual commemorations by Sinn Féin and others. His reputation owes much to the engaging personality revealed in his posthumously published journals and autobiography, and to his dramatic and ultimately tragic career. Modern accounts suggest that he was neither a systematic nor an original thinker. As early as 1791, in a private letter later publicized by the authorities, and subsequently much quoted, he described England as the never‐failing source of all Ireland's ills. But it is suggested that this, like the indiscreet discussion of the potential for Irish revolution that led to his exile, must be placed in the context of a gradual political evolution, not complete until after his arrival in America, and moulded throughout more by pressure of circumstances than by theory for its own sake.

Bibliography

Elliott, M. , Wolfe Tone: Prophet of Irish Independence (1989)