What it Means to Wear the Green

This St. Patrick’s Day millions of people around the world will wear green and celebrate the Irish holiday.  However there was a time when wearing the color green in Ireland could be punishable by death.

In the wake of the American Revolution, revolutions and rebellions began to breakout across Europe.  While much has been written on how the American Revolution helped inspire the epic and violent French Revolution in 1789, the Irish rebellion of 1798 has largely been forgotten.

One of the green banners carried by Irish rebels in 1798.  This one uses a phrase common in the American Revolution.

Ireland watched with wonder as the American colonies united and declared independence from England in 1776.  They read about how the rag tag American Army defeated the British empire.  In France they watched the lower classes overthrow the aristocracy and execute their monarchs while creating a new republic.  In 1794…