Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763-1798) was a founding member of the Society of United Irishmen and is considered to be the father of Irish republicanism. Founded in 1791 as initially a liberal constitutional organisation advocating for equal representation in parliament and Catholic emancipation, the United Irishmen evolved into a revolutionary secret society committed to the establishment of a totally independent Irish republic. Following the failed 1798 Rebellion, Tone was captured and sentenced to death, however died in his cell in Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin of probable suicide. Tone’s writings were the first to articulate specifically Irish republicanism and he is seen as the progenitor of the republican tradition of Irish nationalism.
Writings
On The English Connection (1790)
Essay On The State of Ireland in 1720 (1790)
Essay On The State of Ireland in 1790 (1790)
On The Necessity of Domestic Union (1790)
The Spanish War (1790)
An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland (1791)
Reasons Why The Question of Parliamentary Reform Has Always Failed (1793)
Letter To Faulkner’s Journal (1793)
Statements On Behalf Of The Catholics (1793)
Memorials To The French Government (1796)
An Address To The People of Ireland (1796)
Speech From The Dock (1798)
Letter To The Executive Directory of the French Republic (1798)
Final Letters To His Wife (1798)