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Robert Emmet: A Life
Robert Emmet (1778-1803) was one of the most romantic of all Irish revolutionaries. He was the youngest son of Ireland's state physician and was educated privately at Trinity College Dublin. Like many young people in the early 1790s, he was caught up in the fervor of the French Revolution. In the revolutionary year of 1798, when three different insurrections broke out in Ireland, he was expelled from Trinity College, thus ending his prospects of a professional career. He went to the Continent where he met both Napoleon and Talleyrand and returned to Dublin where he organized and led the doomed insurrection of May 1803. No foreign help came. There were probably spies in the camp, and Emmet's rising was quickly crushed. He was tried and executed, but not before making a speech from the dock which has resonated through subsequent Irish history. Romantic, impulsive and doomed: Emmet is one of the tragic heroes of the Irish past. "Geoghegan traces the details of his military preparations which involved much study, and then takes us through their rapid unraveling. The description of Emmet's jailing, trial and execution is consistently compelling. The speech, its various reported versions and its long posterity as an inspiring document are also clearly chronicled."-Books Ireland.
376 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Patrick M. Geoghegan
6 books2 followersPatrick M. Geoghegan is a lecturer in the Department of History at Trinity College Dublin.
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August 21, 2018
An overall good biography of the leader of the rising of 1803. It is well-researched and well-written.
However, Geoghegan focuses too much on the character of Emmet, and, in some way, is more concerned about the polemics and debates that had been raised in 1803 and less about the social, cultural and political implications of the rising. In that sense, this book was a disappointment. For instance, while he mentions the Despard connection though the character of Dowdall, Geoghegan doesn't really explore this aspect, nor the claim from Emmet that characters of a much higher stading than him were behind the rising.
To comment on his own question: was Emmet a deluded fool or a visionary? From reading this book, I would say both. Clearly, he was very right on many levels (most notably the unreliability of Bonaparte's France) but also very amateur in his approach to effecting a revolution, especially regarding the mobilisation of the popular classes.
I have yet to read Ruan O'Donnell's own take on 1803, but for the moment the history of the rising has yet to be written.
However, Geoghegan focuses too much on the character of Emmet, and, in some way, is more concerned about the polemics and debates that had been raised in 1803 and less about the social, cultural and political implications of the rising. In that sense, this book was a disappointment. For instance, while he mentions the Despard connection though the character of Dowdall, Geoghegan doesn't really explore this aspect, nor the claim from Emmet that characters of a much higher stading than him were behind the rising.
To comment on his own question: was Emmet a deluded fool or a visionary? From reading this book, I would say both. Clearly, he was very right on many levels (most notably the unreliability of Bonaparte's France) but also very amateur in his approach to effecting a revolution, especially regarding the mobilisation of the popular classes.
I have yet to read Ruan O'Donnell's own take on 1803, but for the moment the history of the rising has yet to be written.
Displaying 1 of 1 review