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Ireland 1778–1803

Wolfe Tone and the alliance with France

  • 3 things to know
  • A2 Unit 2

Overview

Tone's argument in the Argument on Behalf of the Catholics, the reorganisation of the United Irishmen and the Bantry Bay expedition.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Numbers

Describe the Bantry Bay expedition of December 1796.

Numbers

How did the Jackson affair end Tone's career in Ireland?

Key term

Why did Bantry Bay matter even though no troops landed?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What was Wolfe Tone's background?

    Model answer

    Theobald Wolfe Tone was born in Dublin in 1763 into a Church of Ireland family, was educated at Trinity College and trained for the bar.

  2. 2

    What service did Tone give the Catholic Committee?

    Model answer

    Tone acted as the Committee's paid assistant secretary from 1792, organised the Catholic Convention, and was voted £1,500 and a gold medal after the Relief Act of 1793.

  3. 3

    How did the Jackson affair end Tone's career in Ireland?

    Model answer

    Tone had written a paper on the state of Ireland for the French agent William Jackson, and when Jackson was arrested in 1794 Tone was allowed to emigrate to America in 1795 rather than face prosecution.

  4. 4

    How did Tone come to serve France?

    Model answer

    Tone sailed from Philadelphia to France in February 1796, persuaded the Directory that Ireland would rise if a French army landed, and was given a commission in the French army.

  5. 5

    Describe the Bantry Bay expedition of December 1796.

    Model answer

    A French fleet of more than forty ships carrying some 14,000 troops under Hoche sailed for Bantry Bay in December 1796 with Tone aboard, but storms scattered the ships and not a single soldier was landed.

  6. 6

    Why did Bantry Bay matter even though no troops landed?

    Model answer

    The expedition proved that France would send an army and that the Royal Navy could not be relied on to stop one, which swelled recruitment to the United Irishmen and frightened the government into far harsher security measures.

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