Welcome!
This is Ireland and the Age of Revolution, a newsletter about all things Irish History in the Age of Revolution (c. 1770-1850). My name is Ruairí Nolan and I am an Irish librarian, writer, and history graduate. I recently began writing history for the first time since graduating university and realised a passion. I wrote first for a blog run through my job which was incredibly rewarding and am hoping to use this newsletter as a platform to keep momentum on research and writing going forward.
I will never claim to be making ground-breaking breakthroughs in historical research here, I simply want to create a space for accessible and digestible history about Ireland and its place in the Age of Revolution. For years I had wanted there to be a place which was dedicated to this specific period, be it a podcast or blog series and in doing this project I hope to be able to create that exact thing.
I have chosen the years c. 1770-1850 with caution, they provide the general timeframe associated with the Age of Revolutions, beginning of course with the American War of Independence in 1775. On the other end, 1848 was a year of revolution across the European continent, and Ireland was no exception, witnessing the Young Irelander’s rebellion. I have allowed some room to breathe on either end of these dates as I will endeavour to keep everything within them, though it may be at times necessary to stray ever so slightly. Within these years, Ireland endured bouts of political turmoil from the establishment of the Volunteer Regiments, pushes for Catholic Emancipation, the United Irishmen, multiple attempted rebellions, economic gains and losses, and much more. I hope to touch on a bit of everything here.
The schedule for this newsletter at present is 3 weeks - it has taken time to realise what works best and this schedule allows me to feel confident in the level of research I put in to each post. The plan is for each issue to be relatively small, no shorter than 1,000 words and no longer than 2,000 words. This will not be academic in nature, though it will be bolstered by credited historiography. Each issue will be accompanied by general and accessible material at the end of each piece for further reading.
This blog is, and will remain free as it is, and always has been chiefly a hobby of mine - therefore while the option may be there to contribute, no content will ever be behind a paywall. I cherish the opportunity to be able to read, research and express my interest in history in an open forum, with other enthusiasts of history. If I can make just a small few become fascinated in Irish history in this period then I will have achieved what I have set out to do.
I do hope you subscribe and if you do I hope you enjoy. I welcome any and all feedback, have I made a typo or a glaring factual error? Please don’t hesitate to let me know. Most of all, if you have a request, something you would like to see covered, do let me know as well!
Thank you again for reading!
Ruairí.