Men of No Property

JIM SMYTH, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin and Cambridge University, is Associate Professor of Irish and British History at the University of Notre Dame. Formerly a Research Fellow at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, Dr Smyth has taught at Christ Church, Oxford, and Robinson College, Cambridge.

'...a sparkling performance ... this book serves to extend our existing knowledge of the process of popular politicization and the crucial role of the United Irishmen as formidable political instructors.' - Marianne Elliott, The Guardian 'A pioneering work of scholarship.' - Brendan O'Cathaoir,Irish Times 'All those interested in modern Irish history are indebted to Dr Smyth for the flood of new light his book throws on the crucial decade before the act of union.' - Anthony Coughlan, Irish Democrat, 'The skilful analysis of the political dynamics of the decade finally shatters many accepted assumptions ... its conclusions are bound to influence future writing on Irish history.' - Daire Keogh 'A free-standing study of considerable merit, essential reading for all historians of the 1790s ... It also serves as the best introduction to the radical and popular political context of Ireland's tragic 'year of liberty.' - John Belchem, International Review of Social History 'Smyth's arguments will be much debated. But few will question that the analysis of popular politics in this crucial decade has been taken to a new level.' - Sean Connolly, Fortnight 'All future workers in the field will have to take into consideration the viewpoints, insights and the occasional polemic contained in The Men of No Property.' - Thomas Bartlett, Saothar 'a major contribution to the still evolving debate on the nature of Irish historical discourse. It is always fiesty, engaged, combative; it is economically written and clearly argued ... after Smyth, the 1790s are no longer the same.' - Kevin Whelan, Linenhall Review

• Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Preface to the 1998 Reprint Map of Ireland Introduction Eighteenth-Century Ireland: Politics, Economy, Society Agrarian Rebels, Secret Societies and Defenders, 1761-91 'Rumours of War': The Catholic Agitation, 1791-3 Radical Ideology, Popular Politics and Parliamentary Reform The Rise of the Defenders, 1793-5 From Pre-Industrial Crowd to Revolutionary Underground: Dublin's Street Politics, 1759-97 The Politics of Disaffection, 1795-9 Conclusion Notes Select Bibliography Index