The Sheares Brothers
Encyclopedia
The Sheares Brothers, Henry (1753–98), and John (1756–1798) were Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

s and members of the Society of United Irishmen, who died in the 1798 rebellion.

Early lives

The Sheares brothers were the sons of John Sheares, a liberal banker from Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

 who also sat in the Irish Parliament for the Borough of Clonakilty
Clonakilty (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Clonakilty was a constituency in County Cork represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1800.-History:Established by a charter of King James I of England granting it to Sir Richard Boyle, it was purchased from Lord Burlington by Speaker Boyle in 1738 and he nominated the provost from three...

. Henry attended Trinity College Dublin, bought an officer's commission and then studied as a lawyer, being called to the bar as a barrister in 1790. John had qualified as a barrister in 1788. Their father died, leaving a large income of £1,200 p.a.

Politicisation in Paris

In 1792 the brothers went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and were swept away by the popular enthusiasms of the French revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

. They met leaders such as Brissot and Roland
Jean-Marie Roland, vicomte de la Platière
Jean-Marie Roland, de la Platière was a French manufacturer in Lyon and became the leader of the Girondist faction in the French Revolution, largely influenced in this direction by his wife, Marie-Jeanne "Manon" Roland de la Platiere...

, both of whom were to be executed in 1793. In particular they witnessed the introduction of the guillotine, on which 1,400 were to die in 1792. On the boat from France to England they met Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...

 (then a student) who was disgusted by the increasingly bloodthirsty nature of the revolution. O'Connell remained an advocate of non-violence thereafter.

United Irish

They joined the United Irish movement on their return to Dublin in January 1793, when it was still legal. However, France declared war on Britain (and by extension, on Ireland) in February 1793. The Society's initial aims of securing 1) Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...

 and 2) universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

 were unsuccessful, amounting to the administration's 1793 Relief Act
Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791
The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1791 relieving Roman Catholics of certain political, educational, and economic disabilities. It admitted Roman Catholics to the practise of law, permitted the exercise of their religion, and the existence of...

. Its stance became more radical, and in turn the Irish administration feared a group inspired by France, banning it in 1794. The Sheares brothers principally organised the movement in Cork, while continuing with their legal careers. A Mr. Conway, one of their keenest members in Cork, informed the administration of their activities. During 1793 the brothers also joined the Dublin Society of the United Irishmen, where another spy, Thomas Collins, passed on their names. Their two other less famous brothers had enlisted in the British army and were killed in action. On the arrest of most of the United Irish "Directory" members in March 1798, John was chosen as a replacement on the approach to the outbreak of rebellion. His main act at this point was to decide on the date - 23 May.

Arrests

The Directory fatally stayed in Dublin, where the United Irish had less support. Already quietly betrayed by Conway and Collins, John also befriended Captain Warnesford Armstrong from County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

, who claimed to be a busy member of the party there. John never checked this, and Armstrong informed the authorities of the brothers' whereabouts, also appearing as a witness in the ensuing trial. They were arrested on 21 May and indicted on 26 June.

Executions

Inevitably the brothers were tried on 12 July, as the rebellion was at its height, and were hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...

 on 14th. Their lawyer was John Philpot Curran
John Philpot Curran
John Philpot Curran was an Irish orator, politician and wit, born in Newmarket, County Cork. He was the son of James and Sarah Curran.-Career:...

 who, with Sir Jonah Barrington
Jonah Barrington (judge)
Sir Jonah Barrington , was one of no less than sixteen children, six at least, and probably seven were sons of John Barrington, a landowner in County Laois...

, obtained a stay of execution in the hope that Henry would recant, but the brothers were already dead. They were buried at St Michan's
St. Michan's Church
St. Michan's Church, located in Church Street, Dublin, Ireland, is a Church of Ireland church.-Building:Built on the site of an early Danish chapel , the current structure dates largely from a reconstruction in 1686, but is still the only parish church on the north side of the Liffey surviving...

nearby. Visitors are brought to their coffins on a tour of St. Michan's vaults.

John's speech from the dock was later much quoted, including his justification:
"The accusation of which I speak, while I linger here yet a minute, is that of holding out to the people of Ireland a direction to give no quarter to the troops fighting for its defence. My lords, let me say thus, that if there be any acquaintances in this crowded court--I do not say my intimate friends, but acquaintances--who do not know what I say is truth, I shall be reputed the wretch which I am not; I say, if any acquaintance of mine can believe that I could utter a recommendation of giving no quarter to a yielding and unoffending foe, it is not the death which I am about to suffer that I deserve--no punishment could be adequate to such a crime. My lords, I can not only acquit my soul of such an intention, but I declare, in the presence of that God before whom I must shortly appear, that the favorite doctrine of my heart was that no human being should suffer death, but when absolute necessity required it."

Family

All four Sheares brothers died in the 1790s, but Henry's daughter Mary went on to marry the Revd. Piers Butler in 1823.
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