United Irishmen Emigres of Erin

by Stephen McCracken, Colum O. Ruairc

Description This is the first exercise of its kind in attempting to compile the names and backgrounds of exiles and fugitives of the 1798 Rebellion from across Ireland. It is also the first publication by McCracken and Ó Ruairc in such a partnership. This work was compiled during the lockdowns of 2020-21 without any state archival assistance, relying heavily on county histories, 1798 publications, online newspaper subscriptions and applying genealogical techniques to delve deeper into the lives of these individuals. Colum Ó Ruairc hails from south Co. Wicklow. Having a deep interested in the 1798-1803 period since his childhood, he carried out a licensed non-intrusive metal detection at Vinegar Hill in early 2009 for his Applied Archaeology under-graduate thesis. Spending several years in Australia, he returned to Ireland and established the 1798 Rebellion Casualty Database, with the intention of recording as many casualties of the 1798-1803 period available. This will be a hopeful publication for the future. Stephen McCracken is originally from outside Limavady and now resides in Antrim town. After writing and researching the 1798 Battle of Antrim he has partnered with Colum to produce this book. He is continually researching and often publishes historical pieces in the local news papers. From the foundation of the United Irishmen in 1791 Belfast the Government led a crackdown against its members. It soon went underground and membership increased. As a result this seen the movement of people away from the shores of Ireland to America, France and other parts of the world. The United Irishmen rebellion escalated which led to numerous Irishmen to flee from Ireland or indeed were banished.