The Speeches of The Rt. Hon. John Philpot Curran. Master of the Rolls in Ireland, on the Late Very Interesting State Trials. Dublin: J. Stockdale, 1808. Second Edition, With Additions. Pp xiii, 475. Rebound in green cloth boards, title label to spine. Foxing & damp stain to frontispiece plate, contents pages in very good condition.

John Philpot Curran (1750-1817) was an Irish orator, politician and wit, born in Newmarket, County Cork. A liberal Protestant whose politics were similar to Henry Grattan, he employed all his eloquence to oppose the illiberal policy of the Government, and also the Union with Britain.

He defended several of the United Irishmen in prominent high treason cases in the 1790s. Among them were the Revd. William Jackson, Archibald Hamilton Rowan, Wolfe Tone, Napper Tandy, The Sheares Brothers, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, William Orr and William Drennan.