Wolfe Tone was the founder of Irish republicanism. A unique figure within Irish nationalism, as an English-speaking Protestant of settler-colonial origin, Tone underwent a dramatic political transformation in his relatively short life: from an elite playboy with colonial fantasies to a radical Jacobin who advocated the unity of Catholics, Protestants, and Dissenters.
Inspired by the French Revolution, he helped to build the United Irishmen into one of the largest revolutionary movements in Europe. Their rebellion of 1798 was crushed only through systematic terror, with more people murdered in Ireland than all of France during the 'Reign of Terror'.
This political biography of Wolfe Tone dispels the many myths—produced and reinforced by both nationalist and colonial accounts—surrounding his life and politics. The book charts Tone’s political development as a revolutionary who, despite religious differences, placed trust in the 'men of no property' to break connections with England. His pioneering anti-sectarian vision remains as relevant today as ever.