One of a series of Irish agrarian rebellions dating as far back as the 1760s, the Rockite rebellion of 1821-24 brought Irish agrarian violence to a new level of intensity. Originating around Newcastle West in County Limerick, it took its name from its mythical leader, Captain Rock, the fictional avenger of agrarian wrongs whose name appeared on the laws or regulations issued by the rebels. From a close study of the local events that gave rise to the movement tithes, rents, evictions, famine, economic hardship - Donnelly expands outwards to explore the forces that transformed it into a regional agrarian revolt, especially in Cork and Limerick, but also in Kerry, Clare, Tipperary, Waterford and Kilkenny. The conflict, ignited by the harsh and ill-advised policies of a newly appointed agent to extract payments from poverty-stricken tenants, soon spread into neighbouring counties and gained new adherents from a broad social spectrum as Ireland experienced one of its harshest economic downturns in the nineteenth century. While an exceedingly grim economic situation fuelled the Rockite movement, Donnelly argues that a confluence of economic, sectarian, and political forces sustained and magnified this outburst of violence. The complex interplay of these forces drives Donnelly s analysis of the movement s ideology, organization, and social composition. The second half of the work examines the rebellion s defining features, especially the forces that fostered an environment of extreme violence, and the government repression and economic upturn that helped bring about its eclipse in 1823 and 1824. Drawing on a wealth of sources including letters, newspaper stories, official reports, depositions, proclamations, and threatening missives sent by Rockites to their enemies Donnelly builds his analysis upon a rich narrative, replete with human detail.