Edward Hay (c.1761-1826) was born into a Wexford, Catholic, landed family. His generation spanned the era from political exclusion, due to the Penal Laws, to mass mobilisation, most associated with Daniel O'Connell's Catholic Assoication. Hay's controversial but influential History of the 1798 Rebellion, which was published in 1803, ensured his fame. It was regularly republished during the nineteenth century. He was secretary of the Catholic Committee (later Board and finally Association) between 1806 and 1819. Hay was, in the words of Daniel O'Connell, 'a servant of eight million people', who was 'doing the business of the nation'. However, his financial and political differences with O'Connell ensured that he spent time in Kilmainham Debtors' Gaol and his family paid the price for his dedication to the cause of Catholic Emancipation.
