ABSTRACT
The great mass of that body were then and before ignorant of and uninterested in the general politics of Ireland. Unacquainted with the remote cause, they felt nothing but the oppression of the tax-gatherer, tythe-proctors, and their landlords. The Catholic of the city of Dublin were, generally speaking, the most enlightened of that body. Many of them had the wish and hope that the day would arrive when the Protestants of Ireland would see their true interests, and strenuously endeavour to place all their countrymen on a level with themselves. There was no national spirit in Ireland – on the contrary the anniversary of those events which led to the degradation of the country were celebrated, strange as it may appear, by Irishmen with martial pomp and festivity, differing in this from all nations, ancient or modern: if any felt differently they prudently concealed their sentiments.
