Robert Emmet

The Irish nationalist Robert Emmet (1778-1803) was executed after leading an unsuccessful revolution against British rule. His youth, passionate oratory, and courage in the face of death have made him a permanent symbol of romantic, revolutionary, Irish nationalism.

Robert Emmet was the youngest of 18 children born to a prominent Anglo-Irish Protestant family. His father, Dr. Robert Emmet, was state physician of Ireland. In 1793 Emmet enrolled at Trinity College, Dublin. He excelled in his studies and won a reputation as a fiery orator. Emmet was influenced by the liberal views of the Enlightenment and the conduct of an older brother who was a member of the Society of United Irishmen. In 1796 Emmet joined the radical group.

Inspired by the examples of the American and French revolutions, the United Irishmen demanded an Ireland free of English influence and governed by a reformed Parliament representing both Protestant and Catholic opinion, elected by a democratic franchise. Frightened by the increasing militancy of the United Irishmen, the intensity of Catholic discontent, and the threat of internal insurrection supported by French invasion, the Irish government adopted measures restricting civil liberties. The Earl of Clare, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, began to investigate student opinion at Trinity, and in 1798 Emmet was forced to leave the college.

Emmet maintained United Irishmen connections but apparently did not participate in the 1798 revolution. After the Irish and British parliaments passed the Act of Union, creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1800) and completely destroying the legal existence of the Irish nation, Emmet and his friends considered revolution even more imperative. He left for the Continent to confer with Irish exiles. Napoleon and other French leaders expressed a willingness to assist an Irish revolution. In 1802 Emmet returned to Dublin to create an army of liberation, hoping for French assistance:

Emmet used his own funds to buy weapons, mostly pikes. He asked the Dublin proletariat to strike a blow for liberty. Unfortunately, he failed to establish effective communications with United Irishmen outside the metropolitan area and was unaware that the government had infiltrated his organization. When authorities discovered a cache of arms, Emmet decided to raise the standard of revolt. On July 23, 1803, he issued a proclamation establishing a provisional government for an Irish Republic; he put on a general's uniform of green and white with gold epaulets and led his band of about 80 men out to battle. No help arrived and the revolt was crushed by British soldiers. Emmet managed to escape but refused to leave for America, insisting on remaining close to his fiancée, Sarah Curran, daughter of the famous barrister, John Philpot Curran. On August 25 British soldiers captured Emmet.

On Sept. 19, 1803, the government brought Emmet to trial. Sadistic Lord Norbury was the judge, and Leonard MacNally, an informer, was defense counsel. The jury delivered a guilty verdict. Before sentencing, Emmet brilliantly defended his nationalism. He said that he was prepared to die for the future of Irish freedom, closing with the words: "Let no man write my epitaph…. When my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then, and not till then, let my epitaph be written." On September 20 he was hanged.

Emmet's image among Irish nationalists far exceeds the merits of his performance as revolutionary. He was naive, impractical, flamboyant, excessively talkative, and a poor organizer. British vengeance, however, converted a pathetic effort into a triumph of martydom. Thomas Moore's poems about Emmet enhanced the image of noble and tragic martyr. Irish exiles in America were particularly loyal to Emmet's memory, learning the words of his speech and naming their children and patriotic organizations after him. Emmet's example of blood sacrifice watered Irish nationalism, motivating Fenians and the men of the Easter Rebellion of 1916 and the Anglo-Irish war.

Further Reading

Helen Landreth, The Pursuit of Robert Emmet (1948), claims that British government spies and informers acted as agents provoking revolt to further William Pitt the Younger's Irish policy and that Emmet was an unknowing victim of British duplicity and tyranny. Owen Dudley Edwards in "Ireland" in Celtic Nationalism (1968) recognizes Emmet's contribution to the romantic myths of revolutionary nationalism but compares his total impact unfavorably when measured against Wolfe Tone's. See also Leon O'Broin, The Unfortunate Robert Emmet (1958), and R. Jacobs, The Rise of the United Irishmen (1937). □

Emmet, Robert (1778–1803), United Irishman. The younger brother of Thomas Addis Emmet, he was expelled from Trinity College in a purge of suspected radicals in April 1798, and was one of the new group of leaders to emerge after the defeat of the insurrection of 1798. He travelled to France in August 1800 to solicit fresh military aid, but returned in October 1802, apparently with no clear plans. By early 1803, however, he was active, in association with such veterans of 1798 as Thomas Russell, Myles Byrne, and the Co. Kildare bricklayer Michael Quigley, in recruiting men and stockpiling weapons for a new insurrection.

Emmet's plan was for the seizure of Dublin Castle and other strategic sites in the capital, to be followed by a largely spontaneous popular rising throughout the country. Despite comments, at his trial and elsewhere, on the danger of exchanging one foreign tyranny for another, he also appears to have counted, initially at least, on French assistance. However, an explosion at his arms depot in Patrick Street on 16 July led Emmet to bring forward the planned insurrection to 23 July. Only a small minority of the expected insurgent force, from Dublin and the surrounding countryside, assembled on that evening, and the attack on Dublin Castle was abandoned following a premature gunshot. About 300 men took control of Thomas Street and James's Street for around two hours, but were dispersed by soldiers after an abortive attack on James's Street barracks. About 50 people were killed, including Lord Kilwarden, the former attorney‐general Arthur Wolfe (1739–1803), now lord chief justice, piked to death with his nephew when his coach was surrounded by insurgents.

Emmet, who had fled to the Wicklow Mountains as his plans unravelled, was arrested on 25 August, and executed on 20 September. Twenty‐one others, including Russell, were also executed. The defeat marked the end of the United Irishmen as a serious revolutionary conspiracy. Emmet's speech from the dock became a classic of nationalist literature, although there is no definitive text and some much quoted passages are almost certainly later additions. Emmet himself was remembered as a noble but impractical dreamer, his romance with John Philpot Curran's daughter Sarah contributing to the aura of romantic tragedy. Recent accounts emphasize the place of his conspiracy, like that of Despard, in a still formidable revolutionary movement. But his talents as a strategist and military planner remain open to question.

Bibliography

Elliott, Marianne , Partners in Revolution: The United Irishmen and France (1982)

Emmet, Robert (1778–1803). Irish patriot. Emmet, a middle-class protestant republican, came to prominence after the failure of the 1798 rising. He was influential in reactivating the United Irish movement in 1799, and in 1801 journeyed to Paris in order to revive French support for the Irish republican cause. After March 1803 Emmet and other United Irish veterans of the 1798 rising began to prepare a second revolt. This occurred in a haphazard fashion on 23 July in Dublin, and although swiftly suppressed, caught Dublin castle ill prepared. Emmet escaped into the Dublin mountains, but was captured in August, and tried for treason. A lengthy state trial was held: Emmet, who readily accepted his guilt, was convicted and hanged. His youth and liaison with Sarah Philpot Curran have encouraged portrayals of the rebellion as a romantic, impulsive, and idealistic gesture. But Emmet had maintained a high standard of secrecy and professionalism in his preparations, and had an élitist conception of Irish independence far removed from that of the catholic democrats who later idealized his actions.

Alvin Jackson

Robert Emmet 1778–1803, Irish nationalist and revolutionary. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, but left in 1798 because of his nationalist sympathies. In 1800 he went to France, where with exiled United Irishmen he planned a French-aided uprising in Ireland. Returning (1802) to Ireland, he scheduled the uprising for the summer of 1803. The insurrection, which took place in July, 1803, ended in utter confusion. Emmet himself, who had attempted a march on Dublin Castle with about 100 men, fled. However, he returned to Dublin soon after, partly to be near Sarah Curran, daughter of John Philpot Curran. He was captured, tried, and hanged. Leonard MacNally , his attorney, was in the pay of the crown, and many of Emmet's associates were informers for the British government. Emmet became a hero of Irish nationalists, largely on the basis of his stirring speech from the scaffold.

Bibliography: See biography by L. O'Broin (1958); study by H. Landreth (1964).

Emmet, Robert (1778–1803). Irish patriot. Emmet, a middle‐class protestant republican, came to prominence after the failure of the 1798 rising. He was influential in reactivating the United Irish movement in 1799, and in 1801 journeyed to Paris in order to revive French support. After March 1803 Emmet and other United Irish veterans began to prepare a second revolt. This occurred in a haphazard fashion on 23 July in Dublin, and was swiftly suppressed. Emmet escaped into the Dublin mountains, but was captured in August, and tried for treason. He readily accepted his guilt, was convicted, and hanged.

Emmet, Robert (1778–1803) Irish nationalist. Involved in the United Irishmen movement, during 1800–02 he visited France in an attempt to win support for Irish independence. Returning to Ireland in 1803 with a small band of followers, he began an insurrection in Dublin against British rule, which ended in disaster. Emmet escaped but was subsequently captured and executed. Gallant and reckless, he was to become a potent symbol in the cause of Irish nationalism.