Description

This book examines the response of the inhabitants of Clonsilla to the social disorder, violent attacks, and civil unrest that were a feature of their community throughout the 1790s. As an agricultural community, the local gentry managed and promoted the local economy through the Farmers Society. Security concerns were addressed at meetings of the Association for the Protection of Private Property from 1792, and by the armed Clonsilla Cavalry Yeomanry corps later in the decade. Each organisation also became venue for the practise of parish politics, reputation building, and the pursuit of personal vendettas. Detailed minute books, account sheets, and parish registers originating from the gentry themselves are exploited to convey this aspect of the community's experience. The extremities of treachery, violence, and deception that visited the parish are reflective of the polarised nature of Irish society at this time.