Fitzgerald
was the son of the Duke of Leinster, he had served in the British
army in America, he came to admire the principles of the French
revolution. In 1796 he joined the Society of United Irishmen he
advocated armed struggle and was actively involved in plans to this
end.
Whilst on the run in Belfast
he is said to have hidden under the thatch of a cottage
in Belfast
During his arrest in 1798 he
received a wound from which he subsequently died. His death robbed
the rebellion of one of its key figures. Wolfe Tone described him
as 'The only real representative of the powerless people of Ireland
in Parliament.' |
