The trade concessions had been made in the context of thousands of Volunteers in arms, some parading with cannons festooned with the slogan ‘Free Trade or This’. To Burke, the Volunteers constituted an illegal military force.28 He was dismayed by the potential for the Volunteers to provoke a popular insurgency, noting darkly that the troops were electing their own officers.29 Burke believed that the principle of free trade should have been accepted by the British Parliament but that for the Irish to extract national benefits by the threat of military force was illiberal and potentially subversive to the constitution.30
The purpose of Drennan’s letter was not to change Burke’s mind but rather to urge his fellow Volunteers to greater efforts to build on their achievements. He reminded them that they had joined the Volunteers ‘with ardent zeal’ in 1778 when ‘the common danger united all ranks whom the feeling of a common country could not unite before’.31 He hailed what he called ‘that ever memorable institution’ and claimed the Volunteers had ‘Saved the island from invasions, secured domestic tranquillity, advanced civil liberty, laid the foundations of national independence ... taught the administration a lesson ... [and achieved] everything great and good, everything auspicious to the hopes, most connected to the best interests of the country.’32
Drennan next informed Burke that the rise of the Volunteers had led to a change of opinion in Ireland and that political independence was now the aim of the kingdom. There were four different means according to Drennan which the country relied upon for obtaining this great end. These were the benevolence of the sovereign, the policy of the British legislature, the wisdom of parliament and the spirit of the people. Burke was utterly opposed to any extension of independence to Ireland. However, he could have no argument that the first three means for achieving political change were unconstitutional. Drennan’s suggestion that the spirit of the people could be relied upon was an entirely different matter.
What Ireland was demanding was nothing less than ‘the repeal of that odious statute the Sixth of George I relative to Ireland’.33 This was the Declaratory Act of 1720 which established the legislative subordination of Ireland.34 Drennan finished his letter with a flourish, suggesting that ‘Ireland will no longer sit at the gate in wretched apparel but will take her place amongst the mighty of the earth.’35
Burke was appalled when, less than two years later in 1782, Drennan’s prediction came to pass and the Declaratory Act was repealed. Burke believed that the measure threatened to ‘tear asunder the connection between England and Ireland’.36 He had no desire to see the Irish legislative process separated from British parliamentary proceedings.37
An Address to the Volunteers of Ireland
It is not clear what effect the Letter to Burke had on Drennan’s literary reputation. It was printed in Dublin and, presumably, circulated to Volunteer corps around the country. He did not sign his name to the first edition but he had clearly enjoyed seeing his work in print. In early 1781, his next epistle appeared. This was entitled An Address to the Volunteers of Ireland by the Author of the Letter to Edmund Burke Esquire containing Reflections on Patriotism, Party Spirit and the Union of Free Nations. It would appear from this choice of title that his Letter to Burke might have had some impact on the reading public.
The aim of the Address was to focus the Volunteers on the next phase of the struggle. He began by telling them that they ‘deserved well of their country’ but went on to say that ‘the virtue that has done much brings on itself [the obligation] to do more and much more is there to do. The liberty of Ireland is as yet eventual’.38 He continued by asserting that ‘liberty depends on power and that it is union that gives that power’.39 Drennan was aware that there were different attitudes to the American war amongst the Volunteers. While he and many in Belfast and Ulster were strong supporters of the Americans, other Volunteers had joined up to defend Ireland against America’s European allies. He therefore suggested, in the interest of unity, that the Volunteers drop all discussion about America.40
He stressed the importance of perseverance and proclaimed that ‘if Ireland has not the perseverance sufficient to wrestle for a few years for a free constitution she does not deserve a free constitution’. Once more Drennan tried to finish on a high note, by declaring. ‘Forward armed countrymen – Forward – Be cool and confident, silent and determined, patient and persevering. Blend the prudence and foresight of a citizen with the spirit and sinew of a soldier. Watch your enemies and your friends. Trust only to yourselves.’41
The most significant aspect of Drennan’s second venture into print, was that he suggested that the Volunteers should adopt a test. He took it upon himself to draft what he regarded as a suitable text:
I, A. B. Citizen and Volunteer in the presence of my fellow countrymen, declare my loyalty to the King, my love to my country my obedience to its laws. I am ready to defend my country from foreign and domestic enemies. I declare, and will when called upon with my life and fortune that the right of the Kingdom of Ireland is to be free. I maintain that to be free is to have the power of making our own laws. I maintain that the power of making laws for Ireland assumed by Great Britain is not a rightful power and ought to be renounced by every Irishman. I will also be obedient to all lawful commands of my officers.42
He suggested that this test should be taken annually at a public ceremony. It is not clear if any attention was paid to this test or whether he or anyone else in the Blue Company took it. Even at this relatively early stage of his political involvement, he believed that committing oneself in ceremonial fashion to a set of objectives was an effective way to foster unity of purpose and fellowship amongst comrades. Later, Drennan would compose the United Irish test and vigorously defend it when it was attacked by his friend William Bruce. Drennan took immense pride in his authorship of the United Irish test and took many opportunities to quote it verbatim in his later written work. He was still publicly claiming credit for it years after the organisation for which it had been drafted had been destroyed by torture, suppression, massacre and executions.
Drennan’s correspondence with William Bruce gives us insights into the many controversies which arose within the Volunteer movement in those early years. One controversy which caused Drennan some personal disquiet arose from the government decision to raise Fencible regiments to defend the country against invasion. It was hoped that these regiments would be used to fill the place of the regulars serving in America. They would not be required to serve overseas. Lord Portland’s plan was to use the fencibles as a way of weakening the Volunteers or at least bringing some of them under military discipline.43 Most volunteers saw through the plan and one newspaper suggested the scheme was one of ‘the deepest strokes against the power and consequence of the Volunteer army of Ireland’.44 For his part, Drennan ‘beheld the scheme of fencibles with detestation’ and was greatly concerned that it might succeed.45
The problem for Drennan was that his brother-in-law, Sam, had been reduced to penury after a fire at his tan-yard premises in Belfast. He announced his intention to accept a commission in the fencibles. Several Volunteer corps, including the Blue Company, passed resolutions rejecting the government’s fencible plans. One resolution declared that ‘we consider any volunteer who shall accept a commission in any regiment of Fencibles to be raised in Ireland justly entitled to our severest censure’.46 This led to an acrimonious debate in which Sam found himself isolated within the Company. He resigned his position in the Volunteers and as the government soon dropped its fencible plan, he ended up with the worst of both worlds.
Drennan was fortunate that he was absent from Belfast when this dispute arose. He had taken Martha to Scotland to consult with his former teacher, Professor Cullen, regarding Martha’s poor health. In fact, her condition had improved on the journey over and the professor diagnosed a nervous complaint which would respond well to exercise and a change of air.47 Martha was hurt when she heard from Sam that he was no longer a Volunteer. Yet her support for her beloved husband appeared to be somewhat qualified when she told him:
I am perfectly assured that in such a case you would consider and act right, but be cautious of throwing blame on the company, though you are right it does not prove them wrong. If they are in error,