The extended family were part of a relict group of Protestant Ormondist Tories who continued to adhere to the Jacobite cause in Ireland.
[3] Following the 1688 deposition of James II, Sheridan's father joined the Jacobite court in exile in France.
[2] He was afterwards given a variety of conspiratorial or diplomatic missions on behalf of the Jacobite court,[2] including the channeling of correspondence between Ireland and France.
During the 1745 rising Sheridan, despite poor health–he suffered from asthma and had already had one stroke - was one of the initial seven companions of the Prince, the "Seven Men of Moidart".
Along with John O'Sullivan he was the subject of repeated complaints, from the Scottish Jacobite leadership, of Irish influence on Charles.