Mark Coleman Wallace PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

was essentially “a reaction against Whig diffidence and a reflection of the
determination of some men to implement the democratic principles which the
example of the French Revolution had carried on a tidal wave which threatened
to engulf Europe.” 43 The radical organization only posed a direct threat to the
mainland when it realized the “importance of political subversion in Britain as a
means of bringing pressure to bear on the Government there,” and that military
assistance from France would be imperative in bringing this revolution to
Britain. 44
The passage of the Unlawful Oaths and Secret Societies Acts was a
warning to all radical groups that treason and sedition would not be tolerated;
however, militant radicals used Irish societies as fronts for their extremist
activities and meetings. As British freemasons had already come under
increasing scrutiny after 1789, the alleged connection with subversive Irish
organizations certainly did not placate public and government suspicions.
Elaine McFarland maintains that
200
a familiar Irish tactic employed in Scotland was the use of Freemasons’
Lodges as a cover for underground activities…Certainly by the 1790s the
Craft had acquired a reputation for advanced political principles, and the
United Irishmen felt comfortable in making the most of the lodges as
fronts and recruiting grounds. Scotland offered good opportunities to
extend the surrogate method, with an extensive network of lodges, which
were believed to be more ‘popular and radical’ than elsewhere. 45
43 Wells, Insurrection, 8.
44 Dickinson, British Radicalism, 49. See also Marianne Elliot, “Ireland and the French
Revolution,” in Britain and the French Revolution, ed. H.T. Dickinson.
45 McFarland, Ireland And Scotland, 159. See also R.E. Parkinson, “Ireland and the Royal Arch
Degree,” AQC, 79(1966), 181-193; William Tait, “Early Records of the Royal Arch in Ireland,”
AQC, 36(1923), 193-194.