Charles Hamilton Teeling (1778–1848) was an Irish political activist, journalist, writer, and publisher from

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

, County Antrim,

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

. He was the second son of Luke Teeling a successful Catholic linen merchant who in the cause of complete

Catholic Emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

had been a delegate to the Convention, or "Back Lane Parliament", that had been called by the Catholic Committee in Dublin in December 1792. In 1798, the Teeling mill was to be destroyed by Orangemen. At the age of 16 he joined his elder brother

Bartholomew Teeling Captain Bartholomew Teeling (1774 in Lisburn, County Antrim, Ireland – 24 September 1798, in Arbor Hill, County Dublin, Ireland) was an Irish republican who was leader of the Irish forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and who carried ...

in the

Society of United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...

, formed in 1791 by Protestant reformers in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. In defiance of the Ascendancy Parliament in Dublin, and of the

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

Executive answerable to London, the Society sought "an equal representation of all the people" of Ireland in a "national government." With his brother-in-law John Magennis, the Teeling brothers helped connect the United Irishmen with the

Defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

.. A vigilante response to Peep O'Day Boy raids upon Catholic homes in the mid 1780s, by the mid 1790s the Defenders, like the United Irishmen, developed into an extensive oath-bound fraternity. He was a witness, he later claimed, not a partisan in their confrontation with the Peep O'Day Boys in the

Battle of the Diamond The Battle of the Diamond was a planned confrontation between the Catholic Defenders and the Protestant Peep o' Day Boys that took place on 21 September 1795 near Loughgall, County Armagh, Ireland. The Peep o' Day Boys were the victors, killin ...

, 1795. His activities with the United Irishmen and Defenders led to his arrest on 16 September 1796, for high treason. He was released on bail the following year, remaining free during and after the

1798 rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...

, in which he was to deny any involvement. He was arrested, and briefly held, again in the wake of

Robert Emmet Robert Emmet (4 March 177820 September 1803) was an Irish Republican, orator and rebel leader. Following the suppression of the United Irish uprising in 1798, he sought to organise a renewed attempt to overthrow the British Crown and Protes ...

's abortive uprising in 1803, probably due to the involvement of his younger brother George. Teeling edited a short-lived monthly, the ''Ulster Magazine'' (Belfast, 1830–31), and then started or took over a weekly newspaper, the ''Northern Herald'' (Belfast), edited partly by Thomas O'Hagan (qv), the future Baron O'Hagan, which survived somewhat longer (1833–36). His memoirs of the politics of his youth appeared in three parts: ''Personal Narrative of the "Irish Rebellion" of 1798'' (1828), his ''Sequel to Personal Narrative of the "Irish Rebellion" of 1798'' (1832), and his ''History and Consequences of the Battle of the Diamond'' (1835). In 1835, through the ''Northern Herald'', Teeling helped launch the journalistic career of

Charles Gavan Duffy Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, KCMG, PC (12 April 1816 – 9 February 1903), was an Irish poet and journalist (editor of ''The Nation''), Young Irelander and tenant-rights activist. After emigrating to Australia in 1856 he entered the politics of ...

, future

Young Ireland Young Ireland ( ga, Éire Óg, ) was a political movement, political and cultural movement, cultural movement in the 1840s committed to an all-Ireland struggle for independence and democratic reform. Grouped around the Dublin weekly ''The Nati ...

er and editor of '

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

''. Charles Hamilton Teeling was said to be ‘late of Belfast’ when he died on 14 August 1848.

References

1778 births 1850 deaths Irish journalists Irish newspaper founders Irish writers People from Lisburn 19th-century Irish businesspeople {{ireland-journalist-stub