The physical force tradition in a pre-twentieth century Irish rebellion

The following sources relate to the United Irishmen who rebelled against English rule in Ireland
in 1798. Examine the sources and answer the questions which follow.

Source 1: United Irishmen upon Duty by James Gillray, 12 June 1798.

Source 2: extract from the diary of Elizabeth Richards, Co. Wexford, 30 May 1798.

In the morning a man rode into the courtyard with a drawn sword in his hand. He
demanded that food should be sent to the rebel camp.

‘We are starving, Ma’am’, said he to Mrs. Hatton. ‘Send us provisions or --’ he struck his
sword with violence on the top of a pump.

‘The government may confiscate [take] my property for helping rebels,’ said Mrs.
Hatton. ‘If you do not comply you shall be murdered,’ was the reply.

An old man was sent to the rebel camp with a cart loaded with bacon, potatoes, etc., for
which Mrs. Hatton received thanks from the rebel chiefs.
1. According to the artist in Source 1, what is happening in Ireland? Support your points with
evidence from the drawing.

(9)

2. Is Source 2 a primary source or a secondary source? Give a reason for your answer.

Primary or secondary: (1)

Reason:

(2)

3. In Source 2, do you think Elizabeth Richards is positive, negative or neutral in her account of
the rebels? Give a reason for your answer based on evidence from Source 2.

Positive, negative or neutral: (1)

Reason:

(2)
4. Put these events in chronological order, one has been done for you already.

The Battle of Vinegar Hill The attempted arrest and death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald
The failed landing at Bantry Bay The Act of Union The death of Wolfe Tone

Order number Event

1. (1)

2. The attempted arrest and death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald (1)

3. (1)

4. (1)

5. (1)

A pre-twentieth century revolution in Europe and/or the wider world

In 1773, American protestors boarded ships docked in Boston and dumped their cargo of
British tea into the harbour in protest of new tax laws passed by the British Parliament. This
event, the Boston Tea Party, was important in the build-up to the American Revolution.
Examine the pictures and answer the questions below.

Picture one above was published in 1789.

Picture two above was painted in 1846.

(a) Compare the two pictures and identify two differences between them.

Painted from a different

perspective,
One is older one is younger

(4)

(b) For each picture, what is the difference in the time between the Boston Tea Party and the
image?
16 year
Picture 1 - __________________________________________________________________(1)

Picture 2 - __________________________________________________________________(1)
(c) Which picture do you think is more reliable? Support your answer with reference to the
sources.

(4)

(d) Historian Gillian O’Brien gives the following advice about setting up museum exhibitions:

“Objects and documents are vital, but photographs, film, and oral testimony can be fascinating
too.”

2023 marks the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. Suggest three examples of specific
objects, documents and/or other presentation methods you would use to set up a museum
exhibition about this event. Justify each of your choices.

(9)
The Great Famine and the Irish Diaspora

The suffering of the Famine was recorded by newspapers of the time. Examine these sources.

Source 1: Illustration and account by a journalist from The Illustrated London News.

The first Sketch is taken on the road, at

Cahera, of a famished boy and girl turning up
the ground to seek for a potato to appease
their hunger. “Not far from the spot where I
made this sketch,” says Mr. Mahoney, “and
less than fifty perches from the high road, is
another of the many burial places above
ground, where six dead bodies had lain for
twelve days, without the least chance of
being buried, owing to their being so far from
the town”.

(a) According to The Illustrated London News, what are the boy and girl in the picture doing?

(2)
(b) Why are the six dead bodies not buried?

(2)
(c) From your examination of the illustration, describe how the Famine has affected the boy
and girl.

(4)
Source 2: Account of an inquest into the death of two children, published in The Cork Examiner

“Dr. McCarthy…stated that he saw Timothy Hoolehan dead; he was five days dead
when he saw him; the body was a perfect skeleton; made a post mortem examination; found
the stomach and bowels completely empty with the exception of almost a glass of fluid in the
stomach with some fibrous matter; his death was unquestionably caused by want of food; he
never entered into a more wretched hovel; the children were all but naked, wretched
skeletons, four of them stretched in a sort of bed together…”

(d) How long was Timothy Hoolehan dead when Dr. McCarthy saw him?

(2)

(e) What evidence is there in the account from The Cork Examiner of how badly people were
suffering during the Famine?

(4)

(f) If you were asked to contribute to a history of the Great Irish Famine, explain why this event
deserves to be remembered.

Why this event deserves to be remembered:

(3)
(g) Identify two different sources you would use to find out about this event. Explain how each
source could help your research.

First source: (1)

How this source could help your research:

(3)

Second source: (1)

How this source could help your research:

(3)