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87:. As a delegate for Rathdown barony, Byrne was a well-respected and competent figure. And with the assistance of his protestant friend Thomas Miller of Powerscourt, he undertook the organisation of military and civil branches of the United Irishmen in Rathdown - recruiting 2,000 men by late 1797. In October of that year, Byrne was forced to resign from the yeomen after refusing to swear the oath of loyalty and his activities began to come to the attention of
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On 4 July, Byrne with four others was brought before a commission of oyer and terminer on charges of high treason. The case mounted by the state against him was based principally on the evidence of
Reynolds and also that given by his former comrade William Miller of Powerscourt. The weight of the
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United
Irishmen and member of the provincial committee. Reynolds had been informed that plans for an insurrection were about to be finalised by the committee. Byrne was arrested in possession of incriminating documents which were described by Attorney-General
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for having led him to this point. He refused, meeting his end with great dignity and stoicism. The Dublin
Magazine noted that William: ' ... met his fate with a degree of courage perhaps unequalled'. For his service to the state, Reynolds was honoured by
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At this meeting, Byrne and was as Head
Delegate for the Wicklow Committee. Thomas Murray's information tells that Byrne established networks of contacts between the Leinster committee and the Cork United Irishmen along with other contacts in
91:. According to the informant A.B. (Thomas Murray), William had attended the inaugural meeting of the United Irishmen's Wicklow county committee in December. It was held in the Annacurra home of William's first cousin, John Loftus.
71:. William though was to live most of his adult life at Park Hill in the Glen of the Downs. In late 1796, he enlisted in the yeomanry - serving in the Newtown Mount Kennedy cavalry.
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KC, the leading defence counsel of the age, attempted to cast
Reynold's character and motives in a foul light but it was futile.
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Byrne's career came to an end when he with fourteen other
Leinster delegates were arrested on 12 March 1798 at the house of
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In his last days, efforts were made to spare Byrne's life if he would only express regret for his actions and accuse
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Byrne joined the
Society of the United Irishmen in spring 1797 and later that same year was appointed by the
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Byrne was convicted of high treason and executed on 25 July 1798 at
Gallows Hill near Wicklow.
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on
October 19, 1798, spending much of his life thereafter in fear of assassination.
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evidence was overwhelming, rendering an effective defence impossible.
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Byrne was one of the two sons of
Colclough Byrne of Drumquin,
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120:as being: ' ... very treasonable printed papers'.
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55:Billy Byrne's residence at Ballymanus House
83:committee to organise the half barony of
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209:"William Michael Byrne - Biography"
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180:"Byrne faced death with courage"
69:James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond
236:. Dictionary of Irish Biography
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17:William "Billy" Michael Byrne
35:in the years leading to the
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277:People from County Wicklow
67:, a great grand-niece of
31:was a key figure in the
103:Arrest and Imprisonment
144:Lord Edward Fitzgerald
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153:freedom of the city
129:John Philpot Curran
63:and Mary Galway of
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19:(1775–1798) from
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234:"Byrne, William"
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238:. Retrieved
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61:Hackettstown
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43:government.
39:against the
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267:1775 births
262:1798 deaths
240:19 November
109:Oliver Bond
256:Categories
218:7 November
190:7 November
159:References
47:Early life
151:with the
135:Execution
85:Rathdown
81:Leinster
113:Kildare
97:Munster
41:British
29:Ireland
242:2023
220:2019
192:2019
65:Cork
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