About Author
John Philpot Curran (24 July 1750 – 14 October 1817) was an Irish orator, politician, and lawyer known for his skills in defence of civil and political liberty. He first won popular acclaim in 1780, as the only lawyer in his circuit willing to represent a Catholic priest horsewhipped by an Anglo-Irish lord. In the 1790s he was celebrated as a champion in the Irish House of Commons of Catholic emancipation and parliamentary reform, and in court as defence counsel for United Irishmen facing charges of sedition and treason. Following the rebellion of 1798, he was vocal in his opposition to Britain's incorporation of Ireland in a United Kingdom.
Curran's speeches before the judicial bench were widely admired. Lord Byron said of Curran, "I have heard that man speak more poetry than I have seen written". Karl Marx described him as the greatest "people's advocate" of the eighteenth century.
