James MacHugo was an Irish merchant who in the revolutionary period 1797–1799 helped build a United Irish organisation in his native

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ), is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains and Lough Rea, the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the urban sk ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

. MacHugo was a merchant trading in

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

until found guilty of

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

, which led to revenue officers impounding his entire stock and putting him out of business. He became involved in the United Irishman movement, acting as a link between members in

and its environs and in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He was a close associate of Francis Dillon and Peter Finnerty, all of whom helped build the society's network in the town, especially among its lower-class tradesmen. When Finnerty, as publisher of the United Irish paper the ''Press'', was imprisoned in Dublin in spring 1798, he continued to stay in touch with the society in Loughrea via MacHugo; a report dated April 1798 stated that "There is strong ground to think that Peter Finnerty corresponds with his friends in this town thro' this man." The local Anglo-Irish lord,

Richard Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty Richard Le Poer Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty, 1st Marquess of Heusden (19 May 1767 – 24 November 1837), styled The Honourable from 1797 to 1803 and then Viscount Dunlo to 1805, was an Anglo-Irish peer, a nobleman in the Dutch nobility, and ...

, characterised the activities of MacHugo and associates as providing local people with a "secret introduction of modern philosophical opinions."Ryan, David (2003), "Disaffection and Rebellious Conspiracy in the Loughrea Area" in ''The District of Loughrea: Vol. I History 1791-1918'', Joseph Forde ed., pp. 19-25, Loughreagh Historical Project, , http://www.loughreahistory.com/more_book1.html Administration of

seditious Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establis ...

oaths and violent outbreaks, especially in the Slieve Aughty region, were on the rise at the time. However, because guns and ammunition were successfully seized by the authorities, when the actual

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The m ...

broke out,

remained quiet. In January 1799 MacHugo was still under surveillance, as the county was again disturbed and fears of a further rising were very great. Despite this, MacHugo remained free, and fades from the historical record afterwards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Machugo, James Businesspeople from County Galway United Irishmen People from Loughrea Year of birth missing Year of death missing

See also

References