Peter Ivers (born 1774, Tinryland, County Carlow, Ireland) was a recruiter and strategist for the

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, ...

, a mass-membership organisation committed to, an ultimately insurrectionary, struggle against the

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

and

Protestant Ascendancy The ''Protestant Ascendancy'', known simply as the ''Ascendancy'', was the political, economic, and social domination of Ireland between the 17th century and the early 20th century by a minority of landowners, Protestant clergy, and members of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

for a representative national government. He was arrested o the eve of the

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

and transported to Australia.

United Irishman

Ivers was born in Tinryland,

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...

, the only son of Jemmy Ivers. Listed as a carpet-maker, he was described as a young man of good education and of striking personality. In the summer of 1797, the authorities issued a warrant for Ivers on the capital charge of administering the test, or membership pledge, of the Society of United Irishmen. Having despaired of either the Crown in London or the Ascendancy parliament in Dublin conceding reform, and in the hope of French assistance, Ivers was recruiting for a republican insurrection. He evaded arrest until March 1798 when, as the delegate for Carlow, he was arrested with 13 other members of the

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

directory of the Society in the house of

Oliver Bond Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * '' Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens Fictional characters * Ariadne Oliver ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. Ivers had clearly made some impression upon the other members of the directory, as the password for their meeting had become "Is Ivers from Carlow come?". He was, however, responsible for their detection having placed trust in William Farrell, a government informer.

Arrest and exile

The arrests, undertaken on the information of a government informer, crippled the United Irish leadership in the province and gravely affected the course and chances of success of the impending revolution. This was particularly the case in Carlow, where Ivers had been "the driving force behind the society" in the county. While two members of the Directory were executed, Ivers was held in

Kilmainham Gaol Kilmainham Gaol ( ga, Príosún Chill Mhaighneann) is a former prison in Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland. It is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Government of Ireland. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leade ...

until 1799 when he was convicted of treason and sentenced to deportation. In August, he was transported on the ''Minerva'' to

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, landing in Sydney in January 1800, with his occupation listed as "weaver". Among the 234 convicts accompanying him, was Harold James, the first catholic priest to arrive in Australia's penal colonies. Ivers assisted at mass. By August 1800, the authorities were convinced that rebel convicts who had arrived on the Minerva were preparing to take over the colony. Several arrests were made, and suspects were flogged to elicit further details of the plot. Harold, who shielded conspirators by claiming the sanctity of confession prevented such disclosure, was exiled to

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

. Iver's role, if any, is unknown. He is believed to have adopted an alias in the colony. He was not among the United Irish convicts granted pardons in the wake of the

Rum Rebellion The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was a ''coup d'état'' in the then-British penal colony of New South Wales, staged by the New South Wales Corps in order to depose Governor William Bligh. Australia's first and only military coup, the name derives from ...

of 1808, a ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

'' staged by the

New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps (sometimes called The Rum Corps) was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment of the British Army to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia, in fortifying the ...

that deposed

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

William Bligh Vice-Admiral William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The mutiny on the HMS ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command; after being set adrift i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivers, Peter 1774 births Irish exiles People from County Carlow United Irishmen Year of death missing