Wolfe Tone
Revolutionary exponent of Irish independence and iconic figure for Irish republicanism.
He helped found the Society of the United Irishmen in 1791, aiming to unite Protestants, Catholics, and Dissenters.[1][2] Tone died on 19 November 1798 in the Provost Prison of the Royal Barracks, Dublin, from a wound to his throat, an apparent suicide attempt, after a French invasion expedition was defeated.[3][4][5]
Quick Facts
- Born
- 20 June 1763
- Died
- 19 November 1798
- Birth name
- Theobald Wolfe Tone
- Birthplace
- Dublin, Ireland
- Education
- Trinity College Dublin (BA); King's Inns
- Agent
- Society of United Irishmen; Catholic Committee and Convention
- Resting place
- Bodenstown Graveyard
- Spouse
- Matilda Tone (1785)
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He studied law at Trinity College Dublin and qualified as a barrister in 1788.[6][7] In 1791, he published An Argument on behalf of the Catholics of Ireland, advocating Catholic emancipation as key to reform.[8][9] In 1796, he sailed to France and secured a French invasion fleet, which failed to land at Bantry Bay due to storms.[10][11][12] Captured and court-martialled in Dublin, he was condemned to hang but died from a self-inflicted throat wound on 19 November 1798.[13][3][4]
Tone was born on 20 June 1763; his father Peter Tone was a coach-maker and member of the established Anglican church, while his mother Margaret Lamport was a Catholic.[14] In October 1791, his hosts in Belfast, at his suggestion, called themselves the Society of the United Irishmen and approved his draft resolutions for equal representation.[1]
What the cited sources add
Tone's own autobiography, published in 1937, describes his proposal to British Prime Minister Pitt for a military colony on the Sandwich Islands.[15][16] The Morning Post of 15 December 1791 prints the United Irishmen's declaration calling for "a complete and radical reform of the Representation of the People in Parliament"[17]
References
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Napper Tandy, "The Society of United Irishmen of Dublin . . [who] have taken as their Declaration that of a similar society in Belfast", The Morning Post, 15 December 1791, 1791-11-09; Altholz, "Selected Documents in Irish History", M E Sharpe, 2000, p. 70 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tone, "Memoirs of Theobald Wolfe Tone. Volume I", H. Colburn, 1827 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Balls, "Surgeon's report reopens debate on Tone", The Irish Times, 14 Feb 1997; O'Donnell, Patrick (1997), "Wolfe Tone: Suicide or Assassination", Irish Journal of Medical Science, no. 57.; Ó Cathaoir, "The death of Wolfe Tone", Irish Times, 17 March 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Remembering how Wolfe Tone's grave was saved on his birthday", IrishCentral.com, 2019-06-20 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; McGinley, "The Battle of Tory Island – the last engagement of the United Irishman rebellion of 1798 – The Irish Story", 2021 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Elliott, "Wolfe Tone", Liverpool University Press, 2012 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dublin University Calendar, A Special Supplemental Volume for the year 1906–7", Hodges, Figgis, and Co. Ltd., 1907; ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Theobald Wolfe Tone, "An Argument on behalf of the Catholics of Ireland", H. Joy & Co., 1791; Milligan, "Life of Theobald Wolfe Tone", Belfast : J. W. Boyd, 16 June 1898; Donnelly, "Propagating the Cause of the United Irishmen", Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, 1980, p. (5–23) 8; Dickson, "Wolfe Tone (1763-1798), Trinity Monday Discourse, 17 May", Trinity College, 1999, p. 7 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kee, "The Most Distressful Country, The Green Flag, Volume 1", Quartet Books, 1976 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bartlett, "Tone, Theobald Wolfe Dictionary of Irish Biography", www.dib.ie, 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McBride, "Eighteenth Century Ireland", Gill, 2009; Bartlett, "Tone, Theobald Wolfe Dictionary of Irish Biography", www.dib.ie, 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Come, "French Threat to British Shores, 1793-1798", Military Affairs, 1952, p. 174–188 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Speech of Theobold Wolf Tone, To the Court-Martial, assembled to pass sentence on his life in Memoirs of William Sampson", 1817 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kee, "The Most Distressful Country, The Green Flag, Volume 1", Quartet Books, 1976; Ó Ruairc, "Take it down from the mast, 'Irish patriots' …", History Ireland, 2019; Tone, "The autobiography of Theobald Wolfe Tone", London : T. Nelson, 16 June 1937; Bartlett, "Tone, Theobald Wolfe Dictionary of Irish Biography", www.dib.ie, 2011 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Wolfe Tone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lucas, "Developments in the Political Thought of Theobald Wolfe Tone", The Open University, 2020; Tone, "The autobiography of Theobald Wolfe Tone", London : T. Nelson, 16 June 1937; Lucas, "Developments in the Political Thought of Theobald Wolfe Tone", The Open University, 2020 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Tone, "The autobiography of Theobald Wolfe Tone", London : T. Nelson, 16 June 1937. facts only, no text reused. archive.org
- Napper Tandy, "The Society of United Irishmen of Dublin . . [who] have taken as their Declaration that of a similar society in Belfast", The Morning Post, 15 December 1791, 1791-11-09. facts only, no text reused. marxists.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Wolfe Tone (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Rulers & Leaders
Elsewhere in Historical Figures
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced
