United Irishmen

Society formed in 1791 by Wolfe Tone to campaign for parliamentary reform in Ireland. It later became a secret revolutionary group.

Inspired by the republican ideals of the French Revolution, the United Irishmen was initially a debating society, calling for reforms such as the right of Catholics to vote in Irish elections, but after an attempt to suppress it in 1793, the organization became secret, looking to France for military aid. An attempted insurrection in 1798 was quickly defeated and the leaders captured.