Prostitutes, pimps, cutpurses, murderers, and bawdy houses. What were the hellfire clubs of 18th-century Ireland?Were they really elite groups who engaged in obscene orgies, devil worship, and the ritual murder of servants? These questions have intrigued virtually everyone who has visited the supposed hellfire club meeting place in the Dublin Mountains, or heard the lurid stories that are associated with it.Cutting through this veil of myth and legend, Blasphemers and Blackguards: The Irish Hellfire Clubs reveals the truth about these mysterious societies.The book uncovers striking new information about the outrageous activities of these clubs - provocative blasphemy, taboo sexual activities, atrocities (most shockingly, the ritualistic murder of a servant), and the clubs' habit of toasting the devil.