Henry Grattan Irish Patriotism

2443 Words10 Pages

Patriotism was the most dominant ideological force in Ireland for over five decades. Henry Grattan is one of the foremost leaders of Irish patriotism. Grattan was Born in Dublin in July 1746 .He excelled as a poet and Barrister before he was called to the bar by Lord Charlemont in 1775. As a former poet Grattan was an exceptional orator and his ability to produce rhetorical masterpieces appealed to wider audiences through the art of public speaking .Mao Zedong stated that ‘Politics was war without bloodshed ‘ . If this was the case then Grattan was up for the fight , his training as a barrister ensured that Grattan excelled in heated political confrontation . By the late 1770s Grattan’s aspirations for the Irish Patriots was cantered …show more content…

Grattan went back to the first principles to bring about reform on restrictions imposed on Ireland’s trade. Act’s such as the woollen act undermined Irish control of Irish entities whilst at the same time increased profits for Britain. Grattan became more popular as the British Parliament ignored his calls for free trade . It seemed that Grattan had evoked a new sense of togetherness among Irish Patriots and By the summer of 1179 Grattan’s personal commitment to the cause of free trade had increased. This was clear in the participation in the non-importation campaign which supported home consumption. As the debate addressing the crown on the 12th and 11th of October 1779 approached Grattan emerged as the one of the leading patriots. The Patriots and the Volunteers took up free trade as a demand for commercial reform. The patriot leadership put increasing pressure on administration to meet the demand for commercial concessions. One of the actions taken was the threat on imminent financial chaos by approving a six month rather than a two month money bill. Grattan’s contribution showed that the extremes he was prepared to go through in order to achieve free trade. What separated Grattan for other patriot leaders was his philosophy. Grattan spoke of the moral reasons for the granted of free trade while also noting the …show more content…

Grattan saw himself as a heroic object of people’s admiration however for many this was not the case. It can be argued that the literature written by Grattan’s family on his political career and contribution to the Irish patriots is biased. In this literature Grattan is portrayed as a heroic patriotic figure. Grattan contribution to the cause of “free trade” and legislative independence was in some ways successful. However his political career and contribution to Irish patriotism began to falter as Grattan failed to back up legislative independence with parliamentary reform. In addition to this Grattan contribution to