1798: The Year Ireland Changed Forever

Irish History Podcast

Fin Dwyer

History, Interviews, War Of Independence, Ireland, Norman Invasion, Vikings, Great Famine, Great Hunger, Irish History

4.7 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 10 September 2025

⏱️ 6 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The 1790s remain one of the most important decades in modern Irish history. After years of rising tensions, the island was rocked by the 1798 Rebellion—the largest uprising in Irish history. In just a few months, more people perished than in all the conflicts of the 20th century combined.

These events continue to cast a long shadow over life in Ireland and are central to understanding this island in the 21st century. In many ways, 1798 is our foundational story. So much of what followed from the War of Independence to the Troubles sought to answer questions first posed by Ireland’s revolutionary generation of the 1790s. What does it mean to be Irish? Why is our history so deeply divided along religious lines? And what lies at the heart of the bitterness that has marked modern Anglo-Irish relations?

In my gripping new series, starting next week, I’ll take you deep into life in 18th-century Ireland and uncover the dramatic story of the 1798 Rebellion. Through the gripping narratives of people who lived through these remarkable events, we’ll explore the anti-Catholic Penal Laws, the impact of the American and French Revolutions, and how Ireland’s republican movement emerged in the 1790s.

It’s a story dominated by larger-than-life characters from the great-grandson of an English king who became Ireland’s leading revolutionary, to the spies and agents who betrayed friends and comrades. The series navigates global revolutions and the brutal realities of war and sectarianism in Ireland.

Whether you’re new to Irish history or searching for fresh insights, this series brings the drama, the characters, and the high stakes of the 1790s to life. Join me as we uncover how the 1798 Rebellion changed Ireland forever.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	How did the great grandson of an English king become the founding father of the Irish Republican movement?
0:09.7	Why has religious conflict played such a major role in Irish history?
0:13.7	And why is Ireland's relationship with Britain so complex?
0:17.8	These crucial questions can all be understood by looking at the single most explosive
0:23.5	revolt in Irish history. That's the gripping story of the 1798 rebellion. Now this rebellion is the
0:30.7	focus of my new series here on the Irish history podcast starting next week. It's a riveting saga
0:37.3	that in many ways is key to
0:39.5	understanding the entire history of modern Ireland. Although it took place nearly 230 years ago,
0:46.6	the revolutionaries of the 1790s raised questions we still grapple with today. What does it
0:52.4	mean to be Irish? And what kind of Ireland do we want to live in?
0:56.3	Now the story of this revolt is fascinating, involving massive international events from the
1:02.2	American War of Independence to the French Revolution. My series starting next week doesn't just
1:08.5	explore the big events though. It immerses you in the world of
1:12.2	18th century Ireland. A society that was at a crossroads. You'll follow the lives of people who
1:18.4	lived through and shaped these remarkable days, from Theobald Wolf-Tone to the larger-than-life,
1:24.8	Lord Edward Fitzgerald. We'll also encounter less well-known but equally
1:29.2	fascinating figures, like Emily Fitzgerald and Mary Ledbetter, who'll help us understand this
1:34.6	remarkable time. Now, given the international dimensions of the story, we'll also meet global figures,
1:41.4	such as Benjamin Franklin, who visited Dublin in 1771, Henry Edgeworth, a forgotten
1:47.0	Irishman who stood beside King Louis XVI as he faced the guillotine in Paris in early 1793.
1:55.0	And also the now forgotten but once most feared man in Europe, the revolutionary French general,
2:00.5	Lazare Hosh.
	...

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