Identity area
Reference code
P/P155/72/10
Title
Rev. James Porter, Billy Bluff and Squire Firebrand
Date(s)
- 1797 (Creation)
Level of description
Series
Extent and medium
30pp
Context area
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Photocopy of Billy Bluff and Squire Firebrand, a famous anti-government political satire by Reverend James Porter, a radical Presbyterian minister from County Down. Originally published as letters in the United Irishmen’s Northern Star newspaper over the course of 1796-1797, the work heavily critiques state tyranny, the landowning aristocracy, and religious hypocrisy in Ireland leading up to the 1798 Rebellion. Its main characters mirror real-world figures: Billy Bluff represents a local bailiff, Squire Firebrand targets landlord Hugh Montgomery, and Lord Mountmumble satirises Lord Londonderry. Due to these subversive writings and his revolutionary ties, British authorities executed Porter by hanging in July 1798.