United Irishmen

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The United Irishmen formed in 1791. The members wanted everyone in Ireland to be treated equally. At first the United Irishmen looked for changes in Parliament. Later they demanded that a separate republic should be set up in Ireland.

One of the leaders of the United Irishmen was a man named Wolfe Tone. He was a Church of Ireland lawyer from Dublin. Wolfe Tone was impressed by the French Revolution and looked for help from France and America to start a similar revolution in Ireland. However in 1793, a war broke out between England and France. This meant that anybody looking for help from France was seen as a traitor by the British government. In 1793, the United Irishmen was banned by the government and it was against the law to have anything to do with the United Irishmen. In 1794, many of the members of the United Irishmen were arrested.