William Drennan

William Drennan (1754 – 5 February 1820), a physician, poet and political radical, was one of the chief architects of the Society of United Irishmen. He is known as the first to refer in print to Ireland as "the emerald isle" in his poem "When Erin first rose".

Born in Belfast in 1754, William was son to Reverend Thomas Drennan (1696–1768), minister of Belfast's First Presbyterian Church. Thomas Drennan was an educated man from the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the congregation of Holywood, county Down in 1731. Drennan was heavily influenced by his father, whose religious convictions served as the foundation for his own radical political ideas. His sister, Martha, married fellow future United Irishman Samuel McTier in 1773.

In 1769 he followed in his father's footsteps by enrolling in the University of Glasgow where he became interested in the study of philosophy. In 1772 he graduated in arts and then in 1773 he commenced the study of medicine at Edinburgh. After graduating in 1778 he set up practice in Belfast, specialising in obstetrics. He is credited with having been one of the earliest advocates of inoculation against smallpox, and of hand washing to prevent the spread of infection. Drennan also wrote much poetry, coining the phrase "Emerald Isle" and was the founder and editor of a literary periodical, "Belfast Magazine". He moved to Newry in 1783 but eventually moved to Dublin in 1789 where he quickly became involved in nationalist circles.

Like many other Ulster Presbyterians, William was an early supporter of the American Colonies in the American Revolution and joined the Volunteers who had been formed to defend Ireland for Britain in the event of French invasion. The Volunteer movement soon became a powerful political force and a forum for Protestant nationalists to press for political reform in Ireland eventually assisting Henry Grattan to achieve home rule in 1782. However Drennan, like many other reformers, quickly became dismayed by the conservative and sectarian nature of the Irish parliament and in 1791 he co-founded the Society of United Irishmen with Wolfe Tone and Thomas Russell.

...
Wikipedia