Peter Finnerty (1766?–11 May 1822) was an Irishprinter, publisher, and journalist in both Dublin and London associated with radical, reform and democratic causes. In Dublin, he was a committed United Irishman, but was imprisoned in the course of the 1798 rebellion. In London he was a campaigning reporter for The Morning Chronicle, imprisoned again in 1811 for libel in his condemnation of Lord Castlereagh.
Finnerty was born in Loughrea, County Galway, the son of a town trader. Contemporary sources propose different dates for his birth, the earliest being 1766 and the latest 1778.[1] He moved to Dublin where he became a printer, later publishing (as titular proprietor) The Press, a United Irish paper established in September 1797 by Arthur O'Connor and William Sampson. Finnerty was closely associated with James MacHugo and Francis Dillon, fellow natives of Loughrea who built the local branch of the United Irishmen.[2]
The Press's condemnation of the judges who sentenced William Orr to death for allegedly administering a United Irish test to a soldier and of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Camden, who refused to reprieve him, resulted in Finnerty being tried for seditious libel. His defence counsel, the renowned John Philpot Curran, appeared less concerned with addressing the charges against Finnerty, than in joining Finnerty in decrying the treatment of Orr. Finnerty was sentenced in the spring of 1798 to a session in the pillory and two years in prison, and was required to give security for his good behaviour for a further seven.[3]
When Finnerty was taken to the pillory he was accompanied by the leading United Irishmen, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Oiliver Bond, Henry Jackson, William Sampson, and Arthur O'Connor who held an umbrella over the prisoner's head. When he was released from the pillory he struck a defiant: '[Y]ou see how cheerfully I suffer. I can suffer anything provided it promotes the liberty of my country".[3]
On his release in 1800, Finnerty emigrated to London. There was a report of Finnerty in 1803 travelling to Dublin to help Robert Emmet in his preparations for a renewed insurrection,[4] and even an account of him commanding men on the streets during the aborted rising of July 23rd.[5] But it is otherwise supposed that Finnerty remained in London where he busied with, not insurrectionary, but electoral politics.[6]
In London, Finnerty found work as a parliamentary reporter with The Morning Chronicle. This brought him into the orbit of the reform candidate Sir Francis Burdett who had championed the cause of Edward Despard executed for treason in January 1803. Finnerty assisted Burdett in his attempts to gain a parliamentary seat in Middlesex in 1802 and 1804. He remained involved in electoral politics in London. Alongside William Cobbett, he supported Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the Irish playwright, satirist, and poet, who won the Westminster seat in 1807, and in 1811 the abolitionist and proponent of minimum wages, Samuel Whitbread MP for Bedford. [1]
Finnerty associated with veterans of the artisan radical clubs.[7] In the 1790s these had federated in the London Corresponding Society and been drawn into insurrectionary conspiracies by the United Irish emissaries James Coigly and William Putnam McCabe.[8] His associates included the radical followers of Thomas Spence,[1] (advocate of the common and democratic ownership of land), who were eager to recruit among London Irish communities that had provided the most dependable elements in Coigly's United Britons and in the Despard Plot.[9]
Finnerty was not implicated alongside the Spenceans in either the Spa Field Riots of 1816 or the Cato Street Conspiracy of 1820. In 1817, he did come to their defence, exposing one of the jurors in the trial of the organisers of the Spa Field meeting as one of the government's principal informers against the United Irishmen, Thomas Reynolds.[10]
In 1808 Finnerty contributed to An Appeal to the Public, and a Farewell Address to the Public, which exposed the sale of military commissions by the mistress of the Duke of York, the King's brother. In 1809 he reported on the disasters of the Walcheren Campaign, which accompanied as the Chroncile's special correspondent, laying blame at the feet of Lord Castlereagh.[11][12] When in 1811, Finnerty further accused Castlereagh of sanctioning torture and extra-judicial executions in the suppression of the I798 Rebellion in Ireland, the establishment struck back. Finnerty was convicted of libel and imprisoned for eighteen months.[13][14]
Radicals and reformers raised subscriptions for Finnerty in London, Liverpool, Belfast and Dublin. In An Address to the Irish People, which he to personally distribute around Dublin on a visit to the city early in 1812,[15][16]Percy Bysshe Shelley hailed Finnerty as a man "imprisoned for persisting in the truth.”[17] Finnerty kept the controversy alive by complaining about the conditions of his confinement to Parliament in a petition that repeated the libel against Castlereagh.[1]
Finnerty returned to the Morning Chronicle but, as he was increasingly given to drink, in the last years before his death in 1822 he faded from public notice.
References
^ abcdWright, Jonathan (July 2014). "An Anglo-Irish Radical in the Late Georgian Metropolis: Peter Finnerty and the Politics of Contempt". Journal of British Studies. 53 (3): 663–672. doi:10.1017/jbr.2014.55. JSTOR 24701793 – via JSTOR.
^The District of Loughrea: Vol. I History 1791–1918, pp. 19–25,37 ISBN 0-9546567-0-9
^Bartlett, Thomas (2004). Revolutionary Dublin: The Letters of Francis Higgins to Dublin Castle, 1795-1801. Dublin: Four Courts Press Ltd. pp. 184 n93. ISBN9781851827541.
^O'Donnell, Ruan (2021). "The Rising of 1803 in Dublin". History Ireland. Retrieved 30 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^McElligott, Jason; Conboy, Martin (17 December 2019). The Cato Street Conspiracy: Plotting, counter-intelligence and the revolutionary tradition in Britain and Ireland. Manchester University Press. ISBN978-1-5261-4500-0.
^Elliott, Marianne (May 1977). "The 'Despard Plot' Reconsidered". Past & Present. 75 (1): (46–61) 56-60. doi:10.1093/past/75.1.46.
^McCalum, Ian (1993). Radical Underworld: Prophets, Revolutionaries, and Pornographers in London, 1795-1840. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 23. ISBN9780198122869.
^"Thomas Reynolds - Irish Biography". www.libraryireland.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^Finnerty, Peter (1766?–1822). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. 28 November 2017. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780192683120.013.9474.
^Durán de Porras, Elías (2014). "Peter Finnerty, un antepasado de los corresponsales de guerra modernos" (PDF). Textual & Visual Media. 7: 163–184.
^Finnerty, Peter (1811). Case of Peter Finnerty, Including a Full Report of All Proceedings which Took Place in the Court of King's Bench Upon the Subject ... London: J. M'Creery.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^"Peter Finnerty - Irish Biography". www.libraryireland.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^Fitzsimmons, Eleanor (2014). "The Shelleys in Ireland | History Today". www.historytoday.com. Retrieved 15 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^"Shelley's adventure in Irish politics". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
^Morgan, Alison (3 July 2014). ""Let no man write my epitaph": the contributions of Percy Shelley, Thomas Moore and Robert Southey to the memorialisation of Robert Emmet". Irish Studies Review. 22 (3): 285–303. doi:10.1080/09670882.2014.926124. ISSN 0967-0882. S2CID 170900710.
Case of Peter Finnerty, including a full report of all the proceedings which took place in the Court of Kings Bench upon the subject ..., London, 1811
Galway Authors, Helen Mahar, 1976
The District of Loughrea: Vol. I History 1791-1918, pp. 19–25,37 ISBN0-9546567-0-9
External links
August 23, 2023
peter, finnerty, 1766, 1822, irish, printer, publisher, journalist, both, dublin, london, associated, with, radical, reform, democratic, causes, dublin, committed, united, irishman, imprisoned, course, 1798, rebellion, london, campaigning, reporter, morning, c. Peter Finnerty 1766 11 May 1822 was an Irish printer publisher and journalist in both Dublin and London associated with radical reform and democratic causes In Dublin he was a committed United Irishman but was imprisoned in the course of the 1798 rebellion In London he was a campaigning reporter for The Morning Chronicle imprisoned again in 1811 for libel in his condemnation of Lord Castlereagh Contents 1 United Irish pressman in Dublin 2 Radical journalist in London 3 References 4 External linksUnited Irish pressman in Dublin EditFinnerty was born in Loughrea County Galway the son of a town trader Contemporary sources propose different dates for his birth the earliest being 1766 and the latest 1778 1 He moved to Dublin where he became a printer later publishing as titular proprietor The Press a United Irish paper established in September 1797 by Arthur O Connor and William Sampson Finnerty was closely associated with James MacHugo and Francis Dillon fellow natives of Loughrea who built the local branch of the United Irishmen 2 The Press s condemnation of the judges who sentenced William Orr to death for allegedly administering a United Irish test to a soldier and of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Camden who refused to reprieve him resulted in Finnerty being tried for seditious libel His defence counsel the renowned John Philpot Curran appeared less concerned with addressing the charges against Finnerty than in joining Finnerty in decrying the treatment of Orr Finnerty was sentenced in the spring of 1798 to a session in the pillory and two years in prison and was required to give security for his good behaviour for a further seven 3 When Finnerty was taken to the pillory he was accompanied by the leading United Irishmen Lord Edward Fitzgerald Oiliver Bond Henry Jackson William Sampson and Arthur O Connor who held an umbrella over the prisoner s head When he was released from the pillory he struck a defiant Y ou see how cheerfully I suffer I can suffer anything provided it promotes the liberty of my country 3 Finnerty s two years in prison however meant that he could play no role in the uprisings that occurred in the summer of 1798 Radical journalist in London EditOn his release in 1800 Finnerty emigrated to London There was a report of Finnerty in 1803 travelling to Dublin to help Robert Emmet in his preparations for a renewed insurrection 4 and even an account of him commanding men on the streets during the aborted rising of July 23rd 5 But it is otherwise supposed that Finnerty remained in London where he busied with not insurrectionary but electoral politics 6 In London Finnerty found work as a parliamentary reporter with The Morning Chronicle This brought him into the orbit of the reform candidate Sir Francis Burdett who had championed the cause of Edward Despard executed for treason in January 1803 Finnerty assisted Burdett in his attempts to gain a parliamentary seat in Middlesex in 1802 and 1804 He remained involved in electoral politics in London Alongside William Cobbett he supported Richard Brinsley Sheridan the Irish playwright satirist and poet who won the Westminster seat in 1807 and in 1811 the abolitionist and proponent of minimum wages Samuel Whitbread MP for Bedford 1 Finnerty associated with veterans of the artisan radical clubs 7 In the 1790s these had federated in the London Corresponding Society and been drawn into insurrectionary conspiracies by the United Irish emissaries James Coigly and William Putnam McCabe 8 His associates included the radical followers of Thomas Spence 1 advocate of the common and democratic ownership of land who were eager to recruit among London Irish communities that had provided the most dependable elements in Coigly s United Britons and in the Despard Plot 9 Finnerty was not implicated alongside the Spenceans in either the Spa Field Riots of 1816 or the Cato Street Conspiracy of 1820 In 1817 he did come to their defence exposing one of the jurors in the trial of the organisers of the Spa Field meeting as one of the government s principal informers against the United Irishmen Thomas Reynolds 10 In 1808 Finnerty contributed to An Appeal to the Public and a Farewell Address to the Public which exposed the sale of military commissions by the mistress of the Duke of York the King s brother In 1809 he reported on the disasters of the Walcheren Campaign which accompanied as the Chroncile s special correspondent laying blame at the feet of Lord Castlereagh 11 12 When in 1811 Finnerty further accused Castlereagh of sanctioning torture and extra judicial executions in the suppression of the I798 Rebellion in Ireland the establishment struck back Finnerty was convicted of libel and imprisoned for eighteen months 13 14 Radicals and reformers raised subscriptions for Finnerty in London Liverpool Belfast and Dublin In An Address to the Irish People which he to personally distribute around Dublin on a visit to the city early in 1812 15 16 Percy Bysshe Shelley hailed Finnerty as a man imprisoned for persisting in the truth 17 Finnerty kept the controversy alive by complaining about the conditions of his confinement to Parliament in a petition that repeated the libel against Castlereagh 1 Finnerty returned to the Morning Chronicle but as he was increasingly given to drink in the last years before his death in 1822 he faded from public notice References Edit a b c d Wright Jonathan July 2014 An Anglo Irish Radical in the Late Georgian Metropolis Peter Finnerty and the Politics of Contempt Journal of British Studies 53 3 663 672 doi 10 1017 jbr 2014 55 JSTOR 24701793 via JSTOR The District of Loughrea Vol I History 1791 1918 pp 19 25 37 ISBN 0 9546567 0 9 a b Cooper Thompson 1889 Finnerty Peter Dictionary of National Biography Vol 19 pp 38 39 Bartlett Thomas 2004 Revolutionary Dublin The Letters of Francis Higgins to Dublin Castle 1795 1801 Dublin Four Courts Press Ltd pp 184 n93 ISBN 9781851827541 O Donnell Ruan 2021 The Rising of 1803 in Dublin History Ireland Retrieved 30 November 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Wright 2014 p 670 McElligott Jason Conboy Martin 17 December 2019 The Cato Street Conspiracy Plotting counter intelligence and the revolutionary tradition in Britain and Ireland Manchester University Press ISBN 978 1 5261 4500 0 Elliott Marianne May 1977 The Despard Plot Reconsidered Past amp Present 75 1 46 61 56 60 doi 10 1093 past 75 1 46 McCalum Ian 1993 Radical Underworld Prophets Revolutionaries and Pornographers in London 1795 1840 Oxford Oxford University Press p 23 ISBN 9780198122869 Thomas Reynolds Irish Biography www libraryireland com Retrieved 27 March 2021 Finnerty Peter 1766 1822 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 28 November 2017 doi 10 1093 odnb 9780192683120 013 9474 Duran de Porras Elias 2014 Peter Finnerty un antepasado de los corresponsales de guerra modernos PDF Textual amp Visual Media 7 163 184 Finnerty Peter 1811 Case of Peter Finnerty Including a Full Report of All Proceedings which Took Place in the Court of King s Bench Upon the Subject London J M Creery a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint date and year link Peter Finnerty Irish Biography www libraryireland com Retrieved 27 March 2021 Fitzsimmons Eleanor 2014 The Shelleys in Ireland History Today www historytoday com Retrieved 15 June 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Shelley s adventure in Irish politics The Irish Times Retrieved 15 June 2021 Morgan Alison 3 July 2014 Let no man write my epitaph the contributions of Percy Shelley Thomas Moore and Robert Southey to the memorialisation of Robert Emmet Irish Studies Review 22 3 285 303 doi 10 1080 09670882 2014 926124 ISSN 0967 0882 S2CID 170900710 Case of Peter Finnerty including a full report of all the proceedings which took place in the Court of Kings Bench upon the subject London 1811 Galway Authors Helen Mahar 1976 The District of Loughrea Vol I History 1791 1918 pp 19 25 37 ISBN 0 9546567 0 9External links Edithttps web archive org web 20090507181204 http www loughreahistory com more book1 html Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Peter Finnerty amp oldid 1156140853, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
