Online Encyclopedia

chancellor of the university. Thus cut off from entering a learned profession, he turned towards political intrigue, being already to some extent in the secrets of the See also:

UNITED

United Irishmen, of whom his See also:

elder See also:

BROTHER

brother See also:

Thomas Addis Emmet (see below) was one of the most prominent. In April 1799 a See also:

WARRANT (Med. Lat. warantum; O. Fr. garant, warant, derived from O.H.G. root represented in modern German bygewdhren)

warrant was issued for his See also:

ARREST (Fr. arrester, arreeter, to stop or stay)

arrest, but was not executed; and in 1800 and the following See also:

YEAR

year he travelled on the See also:

CONTINENT (from Lat. continere, "to hold together "; hence " connected," " continuous ")

continent of See also:

EUROPE

Europe, where he • entered into relations with the leaders of the United Irishmen, exiled since the See also:

REBELLION

rebellion of 1798, who were planning a fresh outbreak in Ireland in expectation of support from See also:

France. Emmet went to See also:

Paris in October 18o2, where he had an interview with See also:

BONAPARTE

Bonaparte which convinced him that the See also:

peace of See also:

AMIENS

Amiens would be of See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short duration and that a See also:

French invasion of See also:

England might be looked for in See also:

AUGUST (originally Sextilis)

August 1803. The See also:

COUNCILS

councils of the conspirators were weakened by divided opinions as to the ultimate aim of their policy; and no clearly thought-out See also:

SCHEME (Lat. schema, Gr. oxfjya, figure, form, from the root axe, seen in exeiv, to have, hold, to be of such shape, form, &c.)

scheme of operations appears to have been arrived at when Emmet See also:

LEFT

left Paris for Ireland in October 18o2. Those in his confidence afterwards denied that Emmet was himself the originator of the See also:

plan on which he acted; and several of the ablest of the United Irishmen held aloof, believing the project to be impracticable. Among the latter waA Lord Cloncurry, at one See also:

time on the executive of the United Irishmen, with whom Emmet dined the See also:

NIGHT

night before he left Paris, and to whom he spoke of his plans with intense See also:

ENTHUSIASM

enthusiasm and excitement. Emmet's lack of discretion was shown by his revealing his intentions in detail to an Englishman named See also:

Lawrence, See also:

RESIDENT

resident near See also:

HONFLEUR

Honfleur, with whom he sought shelter when travelling on See also:

FOOT

foot on his way to Ireland. Arriving in Dublin at the end of October he received See also:

INFORMATION (from Lat. informare, to give shape or form to, to represent, describe)

information to the effect that seventeen counties were ready to take up arms if a successful effort were made in Dublin. For some time he remained concealed in his See also:

FATHER

father's See also:

house near Miltown, making his preparations. A large number of pikes were collected and stored in Dublin during the See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring of 1803, but See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire-arms and See also:

AMMUNITION

ammunition were not plentiful.

The See also:

PROBABILITY (Lat. probabilis, probable or credible)

probability of a French invasion in August was increased by the renewal of the See also:

war in May, Emmet's brother Thomas being then in Paris in communication with Talleyrand and Bonaparte. But 'a See also:

DISCOVERY

discovery by the See also:

government of concealed arms, and an See also:

EXPLOSION

explosion at one of Emmet's dep6ts in See also:

Patrick See also:

Street on the 16th of See also:

JULY

July, necessitated immediate See also:

ACTION

action, and the 23rd of that See also:

month was accordingly fixed for the projected rising. An elaborate plan of operations, which he described in detail in a See also:

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter to his brother after his arrest, had been prepared by Emmet, the leading feature of which was a simultaneous attack on the See also:

castle, the See also:

PIGEON

Pigeon House and the See also:

ARTILLERY (the O. Fr. artiller, to equip with engines of war, probably comes from Late Lat. articulum, dim. of ars, art, cf. " engine " from ingenium, or of artus, joint)

artillery See also:

barracks at See also:

ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

Island See also:

BRIDGE

bridge; while bodies of insurgents from the neighbouring counties were to See also:

march on the See also:

capital. But the whole scheme miscarried. Some of Emmet's bolder proposals, such as a plan for capturing the See also:

COMMANDER

commander-in-See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief, were vetoed by the timidity of his associates, none of whom were men of any ability. On the 23rd of July all was confusion at the depots, and the leaders were divided as to the course to be pursued; orders were not obeyed; a trusted messenger despatched for arms absconded with the See also:

MONEY

money committed to him to pay for them; treachery, quite unsuspected by Emmet, honeycombed the See also:

CONSPIRACY (from Lat. conspirare, literally to breathe together, to agree, combine, and especially to form a secret plot)

conspiracy; the See also:

WICKLOW

Wicklow contingent failed to appear; the See also:

KILDARE

Kildare men turned back on See also:

HEARING (formed from the verb " to hear," O. Eng. hyran, heron, &c., a common Teutonic verb; cf. Ger. Koren, Dutch hooren, &c.; the O. Tent. form is seen in Goth. hausjan; the initial h makes any connexion with " ear," Lat. audire, or Gr. &Kobew very doub

hearing that the rising had been postponed; a See also:

SIGNAL

signal expected by a contingent at the Broadstone was never given. In this hopeless See also:

state of affairs a false See also:

REPORT (O.Fr. report or raport, modern rapport, from O.Fr. reporter, mod. rap porter, Lat. reportare, to bring back, in poetical use only, of bringing back an account, news, &c.)

report reached Emmet at one of his dep6ts at nine o'See also:

CLOCK

clock in the evening that the military were approaching. Without taking any step to verify it, Emmet put on a See also:

green and See also:

white See also:

UNIFORM

uniform and placed himself at the See also:

head of some eighty men, who marched towards the castle, being joined in the streets by a second See also:

BODY

body of about equal strength. None of these insurgents had any discipline, and many of them were drunk. Lord Kilwarden, proceeding to a hastily summoned See also:

MEETING (from " to meet," to come together, assemble, 0. Eng. metals ; cf. Du. moeten, Swed. mota, Goth. gamotjan, &c., derivatives of the Teut. word for a meeting, seen in O. Eng. Wit, moot, an assembly of the people; cf. witanagemot)

meeting of the privy See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council, was dragged from his See also:

CARRIAGE

carriage by this See also:

RABBLE

rabble and murdered, together with his See also:

NEPHEW

nephew See also:

Richard See also:

Wolfe; his daughter who accompanied him being conveyed to safety by Emmet himself. Emmet, now seeing that the rising had become a See also:

mere street brawl, made his See also:

ESCAPE (in mid. Eng. eschape or escape, from the O. Fr. eschapper, modern echapper, and escaper, low Lat. escapium, from ex, out of, and cappa, cape, cloak; cf. for the sense development the Gr. iichueoOat, literally to put off one's clothes, hence to sli

escape; a detachment of soldiers quickly dispersed his followers. After hiding for some days in the Wicklow mountains Emmet repaired to the house of a Mrs See also:

Palmer at Harold's See also:

CROSS

Cross, in See also:

order to be near the See also:

RESIDENCE (Latin residere, to remain behind, to dwell, reside)

residence of See also:

John Philpot See also:

CURRAN, JOHN PHILPOT (1750-1817)

Curran (q.v.), to whose daughter Sarah he had for some time been secretly attached, and with whom he had carried on a voluminous See also:

correspondence, afterwards seized by the authorities at her father's house.

Attempting without success to persuade this See also:

LADY (0. Eng. hlaefdige, Mid. Eng. ldfdi, lavedi; the first part of the word is hldf, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hldford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in " dough "; the sense development fr

lady to See also:

FLY (formed on the root of the supposed original Tent. fleugan, to fly)

fly with him to See also:

AMERICA

America, Emmet lingered in the neighbourhood till the 25th of August, when he was apprehended by See also:

Major H. C. Sirr, the same officer who had captured Lord See also:

EDWARD

Edward See also:

Fitzgerald in 1798. At his trial he was defended and betrayed by the infamous Leonard MacNally (q.v.), and was convicted of See also:

TREASON (Fr. trahison, Lat. traditio)

treason; and after delivering an eloquent speech from the See also:

DOCK

dock, was hanged on the loth of See also:

SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven)

September 1803. By the universal testimony of his See also:

friends, Robert Emmet was a youth of modest See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character, pure motives and winning See also:

PERSONALITY (from Lat. persona, originally an actor's mask, from personare,1 to sound through)

personality. But he was entirely lacking in See also:

PRACTICAL

practical statesmanship. Brought up in a revolutionary See also:

ATMOSPHERE (Gr. fir µ6r, vapour; orkaipa, a sphere)

atmosphere, his enthusiasm was uncontrolled by See also:

JUDGMENT

judgment. Thomas See also:

Moore, who warmly eulogizes Emmet, with whom he was a student at Trinity College, records that one See also:

day when he was playing on the piano the See also:

MELODY (Gr. ,ueXw3ia, a choral song, from name, tune, and gi6i, song)

melody " Let See also:

ERIN

Erin remember," Emmet started up exclaiming passionately, " Oh, that I were at the head of 20,000 men marching to that See also:

air!" He had no knowledge of the See also:

WORLD

world or of men; he trusted every one with See also:

child-like simplicity; except See also:

PERSONAL

personal courage he had none of the qualities essential to See also:

LEADER, BENJAMIN WILLIAMS (1831– )

leader-See also:

SHIP

ship in such an enterprise as armed rebellion. The See also:

ROMANCE

romance of his love affair with Sarah Curran—who afterwards married Robert See also:

Henry See also:

STURGEON (Acipenser)

Sturgeon, an officer distinguished in the See also:

PENINSULAR

Peninsular War—has See also:

CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf. Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in Middle Eng. took the place of the A.S. weor pan, cf. Ger. werf en)

cast a glamour over the memory of Robert Emmet; and it inspired Thomas Moore's well-known songs, " She is far from the See also:

LAND

land where her See also:

young See also:

hero sleeps," and " Oh, breathe not his name"; it is also the subject of See also:

Washington See also:

Irving's " The Broken See also:

Heart." Emmet was short and slight in figure; his See also:

FACE (from Lat. fades, derived either from facere, to make, or from a root fa-, meaning " appear "; cf. Gr. cbatvstv)

face was marked by smallpox, and he was described in 1803 for the purpose of See also:

IDENTIFICATION (Lat. idem, the same)

identification as being " of an ugly, sour countenance and dirty See also:

brown complexion." A few poems by Emmet of little merit are appended to See also:

MADDEN, SIR FREDERIC (1801-1873)

Madden's See also:

BIOGRAPHY (from the Gr. (3ios, life, and yp&4 , writing)

biography. See R. R. Madden, The United Irishmen, their Lives and Times (2nd ed.

4 vols., Dublin, 1858–186o) ; See also:

Charles See also:

Phillips, Recollections of Curran and Some of his Contemporaries (2nd ed., See also:

LONDON

London, 1822); Henry. See also:

GRATTAN, HENRY (1746-1820)

Grattan, See also:

MEMOIRS

Memoirs of the See also:

LIFE

Life and Times of the Right Hon. H. Grattan (5 vols., London, 1839–1846) ; W. H. See also:

Maxwell, See also:

HISTORY

History of the Irish Rebellion in 7798; with Memoirs of the See also:

Union and Emmet's Insurrection in 7803 (London, 1845) ; W. H. Curran, Life of J. P. Curran (2 vols., See also:

EDINBURGH

Edinburgh, 1822) ; Thomas Moore, Life and See also:

DEATH

Death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald (2 vols. 3rd ed., London, 1832) ; and Memoirs, See also:

JOURNALS

Journals and Correspondence of Thomas Moore, edited by Lord John See also:

Russell (8 vols., London, 1853–1856). (R.

End of Article: EMMET, ROBERT (1778-1803)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
EMMERICH (the ancient Embrica)

[next]
EMMET, THOMAS ADDIS (1764-1827)