Page 274 - Demo

274 Stephen Dunford: The Journey of The IrIsh
to provide their own uiniforms, were allowed to elect their own officers, and were supplied with arms by the state. At first all the members were Protestant, but after a short period Catholics were encouraged to join and openly welcomed into the association. The Ulster Volunteers, the parent body, were commanded by Lord Charlemount; those of Leinster by the Duke of Leinster. At the time Ireland was near to ruin from the suppression of her manufacturing industry and the restrictions on her trade, so one of the first movements of the Volunteers was to demand free trade.
When the Irish Parliament met in 1779, the Volunteers in their thousands, all uniformed in green sashes, marshaled and armed, and accompanied by their artillery under the com- mand of James Napper Tandy, filled the space in front of the Irish Parliament House in Col- lege Green, Dublin; it is told that across the mouths of Napper Tandy’s numerous cannon guns hung signs proclaiming the slogan “Free Trade or This.” Inside the almost besieged house, Henry Grattan moved a motion demanding ‘Free Trade,’ and with thousands of armed Volunteers outside the doors, the Government representatives, and it is said, even the ‘purchased hacks’ were so terrified and whipped to such a fear frenzy that they to a man voted for the motion and it was carried unanimously. The artist Francis Wheatley painted a wonderful image of this incident-titled Volunteer Parade in College Green, the painting is on display in the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.
Now, with the great American war occupying most of her resources, the English Parlia- ment in an effort to placate the Volunteers speedily granted the Free Trade they so threaten- ingly demanded. Unsurprisingly, this success, this victory even, made all of Ireland jubilant, and as a result, increased membership of the Volunteers, which in turn, extended their power and prestige. It is reckoned that at the time of the Dungannon Convention in 1782, the Volunteer Movement counted 100,000 armed men in its ranks.
Song of the Volunteers 1782
(Thomas Davis)
Hurrah! ‘tis done - our freedom’s won - Hurrah for the Volunteers!
No laws we own, but those alone
Of our Commons, King and Peers. The chain is broke - the Saxon yoke From off our neck is taken;
ff