Irish Volunteers (18th century)

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The Irish Volunteers were a vigilante group in Ireland in the late 18th century . The Volunteers were formed in Belfast in 1778 to protect Ireland against enemy invasion after a large part of the regular British soldiers were withdrawn from Ireland in the wake of the American Revolutionary War . The volunteers, however, were never subordinate to the government and although initially loyal to the English crown, they were quickly dominated by Irish political forces. As early as 1779, the Volunteers under Lord Charlemont had over 100,000 members.

The volunteers had to pay for their weapons and uniforms themselves and were therefore referred to by Henry Grattan as "the armed possession of the nation ". They were considered an organization with liberal political views, because although (according to the Penal Laws) only Anglican Protestants were allowed to arm themselves , the volunteers also accepted Catholics and Presbyterians . In addition, the officers were chosen from among the broad masses. In 1779 the Irish Volunteers demonstrated in Dublin for free trade between Ireland and England - up to now Irish goods in England have been subject to punitive tariffs. The demonstration - fully armed - was held under the slogan " Free Trade or fast Revolution " ( Free trade or a Speedy Revolution instead). Although the group would not have used force, the volunteers' demands were quickly met by the British government. In 1782, after mass rioting by volunteers and a parliamentary group under Henry Grattan, the Irish Parliament was given greater powers. Radicals called these concessions by the English the constitution of 1782 .

The volunteers lost power in America after the end of the war in 1783, but showed some attachment to the French Revolution . In 1793 the group was banned by law after England declared war on revolutionary France. Some of the volunteers later joined the more radical United Irishmen who sought an independent Irish republic and started the Irish Rebellion of 1798 .

In 1913, Eoin MacNeill founded an organization with the same name that had Home Rule as its goal, i.e. Ireland's independence from Great Britain.