Rockites and Whitefeet : Irish peasant secret societies, 1800-1845

Gibbons, Stephen Randolph (1982) Rockites and Whitefeet : Irish peasant secret societies, 1800-1845. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

The study examines the aims and motivation of the Catholic, peasant secret societies: the Threshers, Carders, Rockites, Mhitefeet and similar groups. The thesis is in two parts, Part One establishes the sources of the evidence to be used, and the significance of both contemporary and modern views on the societies' objects. The most common feature of agrarian crime is shown to be the anonymous notice or threatening letter. Chapter three describes the background from which the societies arose, using contemporary material to emphasise those features which will be particularly elucidated in Part Two. Part Two examines some 500 threatening letters and some examples of society oaths. It is shown that these are concerned with the following issues. 1. Land; especially conacre, the availability of tenancies, rents and wages. 2. Efforts to secure or maintain employment, to procure the dismissal of 'strange' labourers, to regulate the prices of basic commodities and to prevent the export of foodstuffs from the immediate localities. 3. The control of tithe valuation and the elimination of proctors, and, later, to abolish tithe. 4. The condemnation of Protestants and Orangemen, and the establishment of exclusive dealing, particularly before 1830. 5. 'Legal' and political issues, including distraint, the police, the yeomanry, and the obtaining of arms. The concept of a 'legal subculture' among the peasantry is examined. The character of Ribbonism is shown to have changed significantly between 1810 and 1840.

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