The 1798 Rebellion Begins: Plots, Spies, and Informers
Irish History Podcast
Fin Dwyer
4.7 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 29 October 2025
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the early days of 1798, Dublin teetered on the edge of revolution. A shadow war raged between the United Irishmen and the British authorities, with the city’s fate hanging in the balance.
This episode delves into the world of Edward Cooke, the spymaster at Dublin Castle, as he races to dismantle the revolutionary movement through a web of informers and secret agents. Meanwhile, leading rebels like Lord Edward Fitzgerald struggle to stay one step ahead, risking everything to keep the cause alive.
As martial law is declared and terror sweeps across Ireland, the final days before the rebellion erupt into chaos, violence, and desperate gambles on both sides. Step into the heart of a city in crisis, where every shadow hides a secret and the first sparks of revolution are about to ignite.
This is Episode 6 in my series on the 1798 Rebellion. The next installment, Part 7, will be available early and ad-free for show supporters next Monday week.
Become a supporter today and get exclusive early and ad-free access at:
Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/Irishpodcast
Supercast:https://irishhistory.supercast.com/
Written, narrated and produced by Fin Dwyer
Sound: Kate Dunlea
Additional Research: Stewart Reddin
Voice Actors: Aidan Crowe & Therese Murray
Contact me with your questions at info(at)Irishhistorypodcast(dot)ie.
A list of sources for the 1798 Rebellion is available here: 
https://www.patreon.com/posts/138580354 (the post is not paywalled)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Irish History podcast. My name is Finn DeWire. |
| 0:10.1 | Now, by this spring of 1798, Dublin was a city gripped by fear, suspicion and intrigue. |
| 0:17.2 | And in this episode, exploring the fascinating history of the 1798 Rebellion, we're going to delve |
| 0:22.3 | into the shadowy world of spies, informers and secret societies as the capital teetered on the brink |
| 0:28.9 | of open rebellion. As the British authorities scrambled to uncover the plans of the United |
| 0:34.2 | Irishmen, a deadly game of cat and mouse unfolded in the streets and |
| 0:38.4 | safe houses of the city. We're going to follow the story of Edward Cook, Dublin Castle's chief |
| 0:44.0 | spymaster as he tried to piece together a web of rumours, betrayals and coded messages. With the |
| 0:50.1 | revolutionary movement growing bolder and the threat of another French invasion looming, |
| 0:54.7 | the authorities would launch a desperate crackdown, raiding rebel houses, arresting leaders |
| 1:00.0 | and imposing martial law. But even as the government struck, the rebels adapted and the city's |
| 1:05.4 | secret war only intensified. Now this episode drew heavily on Thomas Bartlett's Revolutionary Dublin |
| 1:11.9 | 1795 to 1801 the letters of Francis Higgins to Dublin Castle. That's a really |
| 1:17.5 | great book offering a unique window into the world of espionage in the 1790s. It's a really |
| 1:23.7 | great read with lots of original source material in it. I want to also take this opportunity to say thanks again for all your questions and support |
| 1:32.1 | throughout this series. I've mentioned before I'm planning a Q&A episode soon, so that will |
| 1:36.6 | be coming up. If you want to submit a question for that, please do. If you are enjoying the |
| 1:41.8 | series, you can support my work and get early ad-free episodes at patreon.com forward slash Irish podcast. I've that linked below. |
| 1:50.9 | Finally, I just want to say next week we will be taking a break from the 1798 series. |
| 1:55.5 | There's a lot of heavy material coming at you here. |
| 1:57.8 | So I have an episode on something completely different. |
| 2:00.4 | And that's a murder |
... |
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