Republican ideal or war strategy? French support for an Irish rebellion in the 1790s

The Irish rebellion of 1798 is pivotal in Irish history. The ideas of the French Revolution contributed greatly to the development of Irish republicanism in the 1790s, when the United Irishmen began their struggle for an independent, republican Ireland. But the French also contributed in practical manner, by providing military aid in the form of two expeditions to Ireland in 1796 and 1798. This thesis analyses why the French Directory, the executive power during this period, decided to support the Irish, and if it fits within the framework of sister republics. The findings of the thesis suggest that the rhetoric the Directory used to justify the first expedition combined Republican ideals, such as liberating the Irish people from oppression and establishing a republican system of government, with war-strategic arguments such as using Ireland as a weapon to defeat France’s great enemy, England. However, the plan to use a guerrilla-warfare strategy, a chouannerie, in Ireland, with the...Show moreThe Irish rebellion of 1798 is pivotal in Irish history. The ideas of the French Revolution contributed greatly to the development of Irish republicanism in the 1790s, when the United Irishmen began their struggle for an independent, republican Ireland. But the French also contributed in practical manner, by providing military aid in the form of two expeditions to Ireland in 1796 and 1798. This thesis analyses why the French Directory, the executive power during this period, decided to support the Irish, and if it fits within the framework of sister republics. The findings of the thesis suggest that the rhetoric the Directory used to justify the first expedition combined Republican ideals, such as liberating the Irish people from oppression and establishing a republican system of government, with war-strategic arguments such as using Ireland as a weapon to defeat France’s great enemy, England. However, the plan to use a guerrilla-warfare strategy, a chouannerie, in Ireland, with the aim to cause chaos and civil war, shows that Republican ideals were ultimately not the priority for the promoters of the Irish expedition, Carnot and Hoche. Before the second expedition, the political circumstances were very disadvantageous to the Irish cause, and the only way the French would help Ireland again was when they were to rise on their own. When this ultimately happened, the idea of an Irish revolution was enough to justify another expedition, and the Directory reached back to the rhetoric of the 1796 expedition. Moreover, the establishment of the Republic of Connacht shows that there was an attempt to establish a republican system, and the republican rhetoric was thus not uttered in vain. A successful invasion of Ireland might thus have led to an Irish sister-republic; however, the prominence of French interests in the event of an Irish revolution, the focus on English defeat and the chouannerie strategy show that the promotion of Republican ideals was not priority for the Directory.Show less

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Republican ideal or war strategy? French support for an Irish rebellion in the 1790s