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The Defenders were a militant agrarian secret society in 18th century Ireland, who were involved in the 1798 rebellion.
Origin The Defenders originated in county Armagh in Ulster in 1784, to protect Catholics from attack by the Protestant "Peep O'Day Boys". Sectarian conflict had arisen out of the entry of Catholics into the linen producing business and their being blamed for the downturn in the market, although the actual cause was the increasing industrialization of the business which was steadily eroding the previous largely cottage-based nature of the industry. Violence continued until the battle of the Diamond in 1795 saw the "Peep O'Day Boys" emerge victorious. This victory was marked by the foundation of the Orange Order and the waging of a campaign of ethnic cleansing in mid Ulster which forced thousands of Catholics to seek refuge in Connaught and Leinster, and in many cases, bringing the Defender organisation with them. The Forkhill Disturbances For some time Defender violence in south Armagh increased and it was at the small village of Forkhill that perhaps its most notorious incident took place. In January 1791 the home of the local schoolmaster a Mr Barclay was called upon by a body of men. Recognising one of the group Barclay let them into his home. The crowd rushed in where upon they strangled Barclay until his tongue came out which they then cut off along with three of his fingers. The same treatment was then given to Barclay's wife - her tongue removed along with a thumb and four fingers - and her brother who had his calf removed. Why such was horrific treatment dealt to the Barclays by the Defenders? Tension had been rising in the area following a controversial will which had been interpreted as not allowing Catholics to buy land or renew their leases. Secondly Barclay was a Protestant and had refused to allow the local Gaelic speaking children to speak anything but in English, and to only say Protestant prayers. He had been given the job by the local landlord Edward Hudson who sought to improve the area, largely by removing the local tenantry and as such was very unpopular. The Defenders in 1792 The strife that had begun in Armagh had now spread into the neighbouring counties but it was around the town of Rathfriland in county Down that the next flashpoint occurred.The sectarian conflict that plagued south Ulster intensified around the town of Rathfriland in the early part of 1792. In May in the neighbourhood of Banbridge and Rathfriland these animosities were reported to be carried to a new height. In June a meeting of magistrates declared that the conflict between the Defenders and Peep o' day boys now affected a considerable part of the Baronies of Upper and Lower Iveagh. The violence was to reach new levels in the Battle of Ballynappoge on the 6th May. The problems in the area seem to have been running for some time and there is an account of one presbyterian from Ballynappoge firing shots into the Defender quarter of Islandmoyle every night. The latest spark appeared to have been the funeral procession of a Catholic schoolmaster to a graveyard at Drumballyroney. The procession was hooted, insulted and pelted with dirt, by the presbyterians: but when they arrived at the grave-yard, and the priests began to chant the requiem of the deceased, they were attacked by the presbyterians with stones and clubs, and compelled to fly, leaving the corpse unburied. It would appear that both the Defenders and the Peep O'Day Boys had been preparing for conflict merely awaiting an excuse, and the funeral was to provide just that. Two days of violence followed and by Tuesday an army was assembled, consisting of many thousands and everything ready for blood and carnage. Through the efforts of the Reverend Samuel Barber and some others articles of agreement were drawn up and these were agreed upon by both sides. Despite this tension again rose through the summer and series of meetings that helped to shape the politics of the 1790s took place. Amongst those who met the Defenders that summer in an effort to restore peace were the United Irishmen Wolfe Tone, Samuel Neilson, John Keogh, Thomas Braughall, Alexander Lowry as well as Thomas Russell who was also visiting this region. These meetings are the first substantial links between the Defenders and the United Irishmen a link that was to culminate in the rebellion in 1798. Defenders and the Militia Act 1793 The Catholic Relief Act of 1793 had removed some the penal restrictions imposed upon Catholics, who were now allowed to vote and join grand juries. However, the declaration of war by revolutionary France against Britain in February 1793 was also followed by the passing of the Militia Act which was a form of partial conscription. Although the terms of the Act stipulated that conscripts would serve in Ireland, it was widely believed that men would be sent abroad and the resultant opposition saw thousands taking the Defender oath. Members were usually sworn in catechisms, one such oath went: The French Defenders will uphold the cause. The Irish Defenders will pull down British laws. The Defenders did not have a centralised leadership but were organised in loosely connected local cells and the growth in membership was limited by their lack of firearms. They sought to rectify by launching raids on the big and small houses of the Ascendancy. In January 1793 the 'Annual Register' reported that 40 farms had been raided for weapons near Dundalk, Co. Louth. However county Leitrim saw the most Defender activity with raids on Carrick-on-Shannon and Manorhamilton before eventual defeat at Drumkeerin in May 1793. Despite the ensuing wave of repression, the Leitrim Defenders again rose in open rebellion in 1795 and hundreds of soldiers had to be poured into the county to defeat them. The Defenders retained enough strength to rise in support of the French during the the 1798 rebellion, with strong Defender contingents present at the defeats at Granard, Wilsons Hospital and Ballinamuck. Defenders and United Irishmen The United Irishmen had early identified the Defenders as potential allies and leading members such as James Hope had
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