In 1761, the Whiteboys, a secret agrarian organization, emerged in County Limerick to protest against oppressive landlords, high rents, and tithes. The Whiteboys, who wore white shirts as a uniform, engaged in direct action, such as leveling fences, destroying crops, and intimidating landlords and their agents. The Whiteboy movement was the first of many agrarian secret societies that would plague Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries, reflecting the deep-seated grievances of the rural Catholic population.

The Whiteboy agitation is a subject of social commentary in Irish poetry, with poets exploring the plight of the rural poor and the injustice of the land system. The movement's direct action is often contrasted with the constitutional politics of the time, creating a tension that is explored in the poetry of the period. The Whiteboys are remembered in ballads and folk songs that celebrate their defiance of the landlords.