Why read The Liberty and Ormond Boys?

Book cover of The Liberty and Ormond Boys: Factional Riot in Eighteenth-Century Dublin

Book description

Compared with organised agrarian protest, factional disorder (rural and urban) in eighteenth-century Ireland has escaped close scrutiny. The Ormond and Liberty Boys have achieved a considerable measure of renown but the picture of them available to date is misleading and incomplete. The object of this study is to set the…

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European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Liberty and Ormond Boys as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Chris Lawlor

Author

I chose this short book because it casts light on a hidden history—that of faction fighting. Contrary to widespread belief, factions were not confined to rural areas in Ireland, nor were they a wholly nineteenth-century phenomenon. Kelly’s book provides a detailed account of the development of factions in eighteenth-century Dublin, from the Kevan Bail to the Ormond and Liberty Boys (and other little-known factions), and vividly describes the periodic disorder associated with them as they tried to establish control in the city. Kelly also outlines how the city’s economic and demographic growth led to the social conditions which nurtured factionalism,…

From Chris' list on lesser-known aspects of Irish history.