Page 285 - Demo

Chapter eight 285 established a directory of ive leaders. Lord Edward Fitzgerald, brother to the Duke of
Leinster, was one of several noted men who now joined the organisation.
The second cause was the brutal treatment meted out to the people after the French expedition of 1796 had threatened English power in Ireland. This French expedition was obtained mainly by Wolfe Tone who had gone to France and pleaded there for help. Since the beginning of hostilities with the British, the French had been considering plans for an invasion of Britain, and Ireland was an obvious spring-board to achieving this. The very fact that Ireland lay so far to the west made it a more attractive prospect as it would be easier for a French expedition to avoid the British blockading squadrons, and, if, as a result the French got control of the Irish ports, then not only would British trade be seriously hampered, her entire west coast would be exposed to the genuine threat of invasion. Furthermore, as Tone especially stressed, the Irish would be very supportive of such a move.
Theobald Wolfe Tone
In Paris Tone argued his case well, so much so, that he obtained the support of the Presi- dent of the Directory, Lazare Carnot.
So it came to pass, that on 16 December, 1796, a massive French armada of 43 ships, carrying a force of 14,450 men, including Tone, 45,000 stand of arms, 29 artillery pieces, 61,000 barrels of gunpowder, and 7,000,000 ball cartridges, under the command of Gen-