Cruikshank provided the illustrations to Maxwell's History of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. This failed rebellion by Irish nationalists was depicted by Cruikshank as an uprising by criminals and murderers of innocents. Much attention was paid to Irish excesses and alleged atrocities.

Despite the pro-British Protestant nature of the illustrations, the drawings have greate artistic merit: within a small space they depict a host of different characters, each individually drawn and given energetic personalities by the masterful pen of George Cruikshank.