Irish Secret Societies in the Atlantic World

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course examines the history of Irish secret societies both in Ireland and in a broader Atlantic world. We will begin with the early oath bound agrarian societies such as the Whiteboys and move forward through the nineteenth century studying groups such as the Defenders, Rockites, Ribbonmen, Fenians and Molly Maguires. As we study these groups in their historical contexts, we will survey the shifting political and social landscapes of Ireland, the British Empire, and the Atlantic World. This course also addresses the question: how do we as historians research groups whose nature means they leave behind minimal written records?