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Robert Emmet: A Life by Patrick M. Geoghegan
Romantic, impulsive and doomed, Robert Emmet is one of the great tragic heroes of Irish history. Robert Emmet (1778-1803) was one Ireland's most romantic revolutionaries. The youngest son of Ireland's state physician, he was educated privately at Trinity College Dublin and, like many young people, was caught up in the fervour of the French Revolution. Expelled from Trinity in 1798 after involvement in insurrections in Ireland, he left for the Continent, where he met both Napoleon and Talleyrand. On his return to Dublin he organised and led the doomed insurrection of May 1803. Undone by lack of foreign help and probable betrayal by spies, Emmet was tried and executed, but not before making a speech from the dock which has resonated through subsequent Irish history. Patrick Geoghegan re-examines the facts of Emmet's life and draws on new material from archives in Britain, France, the United States, and Ireland to show how Emmet's plans for rebellion, although undermined by internal disagreements, were much more ingenious than previously believed.
Hardcover
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