Robert Emmet: A Life

384 Pages·2002·23.555 MB·English

by  Patrick M. Geoghegan

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Robert Emmet (1778-1803) was one of the most
a
romantic of all Irish revolutionaries. His doomed
relationship with Sarah Curran, his rll (sxe Mn elalitelaurel:
the age of twenty-five and the brilliance of his
rotate ai inelanicat-ue lee gmer-|olaelecto Magiom ele) oui
imagination and created a powerful rlavem=laeleiaiaye|
legend. W. B. Yeats declared that Emmet was the
iceeloliave myca l mevmlabigmarciaceiarcubien
Born in Dublin, Emmet was the youngest son of the
state physician. Educated at Trinity € ollege Dublin,
he was a leading member of the College Historical
Society until his expulsion for radical activity in
1798. Prevented from pursuing a profession, Emmet
visited the continent where he discussed plans for
liberating treland with Napoleon and Talleyrand. He
returned to Ireland in 1802 and soon became
Henzel iisve ii geesWevolakye)] fr -1e"an) celee- Wali mecielciiiear
This book reveals for the first time the complex and
ingenious plans that Emmet devised for the
rebellion. His youthful idealism and military talent
proved insufficient, however, and his attempt to
seize Dublin on 23 July 1803 was a dramatic failure.
Captured soon after, Emmet won an unlikely victory
with his extraordinary speech from the dock that ts
rightly considered to be one of the greatest
courtroom orations ih history, He died bravely ors
the scaffold the next day. f
This book draws on new archival material from
ireland, the United Kingdom, France and the United
States and is the first modern study of Robert Emmet
in almost fifty years. Romantic, impulsive and
doomed, Emmet is one of the tragic heroes of the
irish past.
For a note on the author, please see the back flap
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Date Due Date Due
rT
59. Se
22 SEP onnd
O5 WAR. 2076
25 NOV 2010

Robert Emmet
A Life

Robert Emmet
A Life
Patrick M. Geoghegan
Gill & Macmillan
Gill & Macmillan Ltd
Hume Avenue
Park West
Dublin 12
with associated companies throughout the world
www.gillmacmillan.ie
© Patrick M. Geoghegan, 2002
0 7171 3387 7
Index compiled by Helen Litton
Design and print origination by Carole Lynch
Printed by MPG Books Ltd, Cornwall
The paper used in this book comes from the wood pulp of
managed forests. For every tree felled, at least one tree
is planted, thereby renewing natural resources.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied,
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
without permission of the publishers.
A catalogue record is available for this book
from the British Library.
boa a2
Frontispiece
James’s Street, Thomas Street and the surrounding districts: from
John Rocque’s map of Dublin (1756)
‘Contents
List of illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
The Emmet legend
Part I: Introduction
1. Sacrifice and catharsis: 19-20 September 1803
. Romance revisited: the Sarah Curran story 23
. Conspiracies and connections 38
Part I: The life
. ‘An Irish Washington’: the early life of Robert Emmet 5]
. Warfare and technology: the imagination of an insurrection 86
. Return to Ireland 116
. Coup d état and bloody protest: 23 July 1803 154
. The pursuit of Robert Eximet 183
. Captivity and cross-examination
CP=GOpFCOr) O
. The trial of Robert Emmet , 226
11. The appointed time: death and reinvention 255
Appendix A: The Temple and Emmet genealogy 232
Appendix B: The early poetry of Robert Emmet 276
Appendix C: Manifesto of the provisional government 288
Abbreviations 297
References 298
Bibliography 328
338
Index