Route Tenants' Defence Association Explained

The Route Tenants' Defence Association (R.T.D.A.), originally called the Route Tenant-Right Association,^[1] was founded in Ballymoney in 1869. It campaigned for the rights of tenant farmers in the area of County Antrim known as The Route.^{[2] [3]}

Key members of the group included Thomas McElderry, chairman of the Ballymoney town commissioners and lessee of the markets in the town, and Samuel C. McElroy, editor of the Ballymoney Free Press and an auctioneer.

The R.T.D.A. was hostile to the Land League, believing the latter's objectives were too extreme.

References

1. Frank Thompson,The End of Liberal Ulster: Land Agitation and Land Reform 1868-1886,, (2001), page 106
2. J.R.B. McMinn, The Land League in North Antrim 1880–82, The Glens of Antrim Historical Society
3. Samuel Clark, James S. Donnelly, Jr, (editors), Irish Peasants: Violence and Political Unrest, 1780-1914,, (2003), page 206