A history of Ireland in the eighteenth century

by William Edward Hartpole Lecky

W. E. H. Lecky (1838–1903) was one of the most distinguished Victorian historians. He was unusual in the extent to which he made use of archival sources, and noted for his ability of do justice to both sides of an argument. His History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century was first published as part of A History of England in the Eighteenth Century, but was reissued in 1892 as a five-volume work. He has been described as the first revisionist Irish historian, as the aim of the book was partly to respond to Froude's The English in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century, which is markedly anti-Irish in its sentiments. Lecky was no nationalist, and opposed Home Rule, but wanted to provide a more truthful and balanced account, and his account of the United Irishmen and the events of 1798 was highly regarded. Volume 5 covers the period 1798–1800.

513 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

William Edward Hartpole Lecky was an Irish historian and political theorist. Born at Newtown Park, near Dublin, he was the eldest son of John Hartpole Lecky, a landowner. He was educated at Kingstown, Armagh, at Cheltenham College, and at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated BA in 1859 and MA in 1863, and where he studied divinity with a view to becoming a priest in the Protestant Church of Ireland.