Irish Opinion and the American Revolution, 1760 1783

This ground-breaking study examines the impact of the American Revolution on Ireland. Vincent Morley investigates popular opinion in the period, using Irish-language sources unknown to other scholars. The book's detailed narrative and nuanced analysis make a significant contribution to the scholarship in the area. This study traces the impact of the American Revolution and of the international war it precipitated on the political outlook of each section of Irish society. Morley uses a dazzling array of sources - newspapers, pamphlets, sermons and political songs, including Irish-language documents unknown to other scholars and previously unpublished - to trace the evolving attitudes of the Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian communities from the beginning of colonial unrest in the early 1760s until the end of hostilities in 1783. He also reassesses the influence of the American revolutionary war on such developments as Catholic relief, the removal of restrictions on Irish trade, and Britain's recognition of Irish legislative independence. Morley sheds light on the nature of Anglo-Irish patriotism and Catholic political consciousness, and reveals the extent to which the polarities of the 1790s had already emerged by the end of the American war.