Society of The United Irishmen
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.
He wrote many political pamphlets for the United Irishmen and was arrested 1794 for seditious libel, a political charge that was a major factor in driving the United Irishmen underground and into becoming a radical revolutionary party. Although he was eventually acquitted, he gradually withdrew from the United Irishmen though he continued to campaign for Catholic emancipation.
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