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Oliver Bond (circa 1760–1798) was an Irish merchant and a member of the
Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
directorate of the
Society of United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association, formed in the wake of the French Revolution, to secure Representative democracy, representative government in Ireland. Despairing of constitutional reform, and in defiance both of British ...
. He died in prison following the
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 ...
.


Life

Born in St Johnston,
County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
, in the
Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...
around 1760, he was the son of a
dissenting minister A dissenter (from the Latin , 'to disagree') is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Dissent may include political opposition to decrees, ideas or doctrines and it may include opposition to those things or the fiat of ...
, and connected with several respectable families. In his early years, he worked as an apprentice
haberdasher __NOTOC__ In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a men's clothing st ...
in
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
before relocating to
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 ...
. In the capital, he was in business as a merchant in the woollen trade, and became wealthy.''Gilbert,
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''
Initially, he was based in Pill Lane (now Chancery Street), before moving to 9 Lower Bridge Street in 1786. In 1791, he married Eleanor 'Lucy' Jackson, daughter of the iron founder Henry Jackson, who like Bond was to become a leading United Irishman. Bond was an early member in the movement planning for a union in Ireland across religious lines to press for reform of the Irish Parliament and for an accountable government independent of the British Privy Council and cabinet. When, following the Belfast example, the Society of United Irishmen formed in Dublin in November 1791, Bond became a member. Bond was secretary of the meeting, with the barrister Simon Butler presiding, when in February 1793 the society passed resolutions which, in addition to the call for Catholic Emancipation and parliamentary reform, condemned as unconstitutional the repressive measures of the government, and deplored war against the new
French Republic France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. A result was a summons to appear before the bar of the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
in Dublin where, in consequence of their defiant performance, Bond and Butler were charged and convicted of libel, fined and confined for six months in
Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...
. Despairing of their efforts to secure full emancipation and advance parliamentary reform, and in anticipation of French assistance, the United Irishmen resolved on an insurrection to depose the Crown's Dublin Castle executive and the
Protestant Ascendancy The Protestant Ascendancy (also known as the Ascendancy) was the sociopolitical and economical domination of Ireland between the 17th and early 20th centuries by a small Anglicanism, Anglican ruling class, whose members consisted of landowners, ...
Lords and
Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...
, and to establish Ireland as an independent republic. Bond became a member of the United Irishmen's northern executive committee and of the
Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
directorate, the meetings of which were generally held at his house on Lower Bridge Street. There, on 19 February 1798, the famous resolution was passed: "We will pay no attention to any measure which the Parliament of this kingdom may adopt, to divert the public mind from the grand object we have in view; as nothing short of the entire and complete regeneration of our country can satisfy us." Through the treachery of Thomas Reynolds, Bond's house was surrounded by the military on the morning of 12 March 1798, and fourteen members of the Leinster Directory were seized. The insurrection went forward in their absence to defeat in the early summer. Following the suppression of the rebellion, Bond went to trial. The efforts of his defence counsel,
John Philpot Curran John Philpot Curran (24 July 1750 – 14 October 1817) was an Irish orator, politician, and lawyer celebrated for his defence of civil and political liberty. He first won popular acclaim in 1780, as the only lawyer in his circuit willing to repr ...
, to discredit Reynold's testimony were unavailing. On 27 July 1798, Bond was convicted of treason and sentenced to hang. It was mainly to prevent his execution that
Thomas Addis Emmet Thomas Addis Emmet (24 April 176414 November 1827) was an Irish and American lawyer and politician. In Ireland, in the 1790s, he was a senior member of the Society of United Irishmen as it planned for an insurrection against the British Crown ...
and other state prisoners entered a compact with the government whereby (without incriminating further individuals) they agreed to testify on the activities of Union Irishmen before a parliamentary committee, and to accept permanent exile. With the endorsement of
Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best kn ...
, the Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, Bond's sentence was commuted. He survived, however, but five weeks, dying in prison of apoplexy on 6 September 1798, aged 36. Bond was buried in the cemetery of St. Michan's Church, Dublin. The "enlightened republican" principles of Bond were eulogised by his political associate and fellow prisoner, William James MacNeven. Bond's widow Lucy moved with her family from Ireland to the US, and died at
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
in 1843. The Oliver Bond flats in the Liberties area of Dublin are named after him.


References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Oliver 1760s births 1797 deaths United Irishmen 18th-century Irish businesspeople Businesspeople from Dublin (city) People from St Johnston, County Donegal Burials at St Michan's Church, Dublin