A Concatenation of Conspiracies
Schuchard, Marsha Keith Sometimes conspiracies are real or even "benevolent, " as the Irish nationalist William Drennan wrote in 1791. His work to utilize "illuminist" Freemasonry to gain Irish independence placed the movement in the international context of conservative versus liberal debates on the alleged role of radical Masonry in revolutionary plots. Drennan wrote that "such schemes are not to be laughed at as romantic, for without enthusiasm nothing great was d...