views. For instance although only Anglican Protestants were allowed to bear arms under the Penal Laws, the Volunteers admitted Presbyterians and a limited number of Catholics, reflecting the recent Catholic Relief Act of 1778. The Volunteers additionally provided a patriotic outlet, with each corps becoming a debating society. This brought about a shift in power with the Volunteers being controlled by progressive politically minded people and not by the Establishment. The Volunteers also saw the annual Protestant commemorations such as the Battle of the Boyne and the Battle of Aughrim become displays of patriotic sentiment. In Dublin on 4 November 1779, the Volunteers took advantage of the annual commemoration of King William III's birthday, marching to his statue in College Green and demonstrating for the cause of free trade between Ireland and Great Britain. Previously, under the Navigation Acts, Irish goods had been subject to tariffs upon entering Britain, whereas British goods could pass freely into Ireland. The Volunteers paraded fully armed with the slogan, "Free Trade or this", referring to their cannon. also cited "Free trade or a Speedy Revolution". According to historian Liz Curtis, the British administration in Ireland was vulnerable, and the Volunteers used this to press for concessions from Britain using their new-found strength. This demand of the Volunteers was quickly granted by the British government. The Dublin Volunteers' review, saluting a statue of King William III, in College Green on 4 November 1779 was painted by Francis Wheatley. On 4 June 1782, the Belfast Troop of Light Dragoons volunteer company and the Belfast Volunteer Company paraded through Belfast in honour of the King's birthday. After firing three volleys, they marched to Cave Hill where they were joined by the Belfast Artillery Company, who upon their arrival fired a "royal salute of twenty-one guns". Nine years later on 14 July 1792 in contrast to this in a sign of changing opinions, on the second anniversary of the fall of the Bastille, the Belfast Volunteers exuberantly paraded through Belfast and agreed to send a declaration to the national assembly of France, to which they received "rapturous replies". Dungannon Conventions On 28 December 1781, members of the Southern Battalion of the County Armagh Volunteers (who formed the First Ulster Regiment) convened and resolved for a meeting in the "most central town of Ulster, which we conceive to be Dungannon", in which delegates from every volunteer association in the