Divided Loyalties

The contents of our O'Grady Vereker collection give interesting hints about the conflicting Unionist and Republican sympathies within the Irish aristocracy in the early to mid-19th century. The aristocracy was traditionally aligned with land, power and the British Crown: Standish O'Grady, 1st Viscount Guillamore, led the prosecution of Robert Emmet's Irish republican rebellion in 1803, helping secure convictions for the Crown. Charles Vereker, 2nd Viscount Gort, however, was amongst the most active opponents of the Union, opposing the act in 1800; he thereby forfeited his militia command and lost his seat as MP for Limerick.

The collection includes a portrait sketch of the Irish nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders Thomas F. Meagher (image 2), and a meticulously composed drawing of the French Republican calendar 1793–4 (image 1).

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