1798 Rebellion

The 1700s could have been called the age of revolutions The 1700s could have been called the age of revolutions. After hearing of the War of Independence in America and the French Revolution, many Irish people desired freedom and equal rights of their own.

British Occupation Britain had ruled over Ireland since the time of the plantations and Oliver Cromwell. Land had been taken off the Irish, and penal laws had made life for Irish, Catholics in particular, very difficult.

United Irishmen In 1791, the Society of United Irishmen was founded by Theobold Wolftone. It aimed to secure equal rights for the people of Ireland, both Protestant and Catholic, along with gaining freedom from British rule.

(Ireland Forever) The symbol of The Society of United Irishmen

Help France was an enemy of Britain at the time. Wolftone convinced the French to send ships and soldiers to help the Irish cause. The French sent 43 ships and 15 000 soldiers. However, terrible storms meant that the French forces had to turn back before reaching Ireland.

Uprisings The United Irishmen decided to go ahead with the rebellion without the help of the French. The rebellion itself lasted from May to September 1798. Widespread attacks on British forces were staged all across Ireland.

Wolftone

All out rebellion was planned for May 1798 All out rebellion was planned for May 1798. The plan was to take Dublin by force and then secure the surrounding counties to stop reinforcements from arriving in the capital.

1798 memorial, Tullow, Co. Carlow

Informants and spies let the British forces know that this was happening. This meant that Dublin was heavily guarded by British troops and the uprising in the capital was abandoned. However, plans for the surrounding counties went ahead. The first clashes were at dawn on May 24th 1798. In Kildare, there was heavy fighting in Prosperous, Curragh, Ballymore Eustace and Kilcullen.

Unfair Fight The British were one of the military superpowers of the world at the time. They vastly outnumbered the Irish as well as having superior training and weapons. In many cases it was a case of pitchforks and pikes against muskets and cannons.

Kilcullen The fighting in Kilcullen started at dawn. 200 rebels gathered in the old churchyard at the bottom of the town. Castlemartin was the base for the British and when the rebel forces were spotted, infantry and cavalry were gathered for combat. The rebels had a great victory initially and pushed the British forces back towards Kilcullen Bridge. However, the cavalry and muskets of the British eventually won out.

Gibbet Rath After the Kilcullen defeat, rebels gathered in the Curragh at Gibbet Rath to surrender. General Duff was the leader of the British force in the area. He claimed to be unaware of the surrender when he met the rebels. He accused the rebels of treason and demanded they kneel and lay down their weapons. The British forces then opened fire and between 300 and 500 unarmed rebels were massacred. Duff would go on to claim in his report that some of the rebels refused to lay down their arms but this is disputed.

Croppies The Irish rebels were nicknamed the croppies. This was due to their short, cropped hairstyle, in contrast to the long wigs of the ruling class from Britain. Many of the Irish rebels were farmers, priests and teachers. These civilians would always find it very difficult against the well trained British forces.

Wexford The rebels had their biggest successes in Wexford. At Vinegar Hill, 15 000 British troops battled against the rebel forces. This was the biggest battle of the rebellion.

Vinegar Hill, Wexford

Vinegar Hill Shelling and bombardment by British cannons as well as cavalry attacks eventually sent the Wexford rebels into retreat. Wounded rebels were burned to death by the British and buildings were set on fire. Shelling- bombard with shells Bombardment-heavy artillery fire

Vinegar Hill

Fr. John Murphy Fr. John Murphy was a rebel leader in Wexford. He was heavily involved in the battle of Vinegar Hill. When he was eventually captured, he was hanged and his body was decapitated and burnt. His head was then displayed on a spike to warn others with similar ideas.

Martial Law During this period of uprising, martial law was declared by the British in Ireland. Widespread torture of rebels and civilians also occurred all over the country.

Pitchcapping Pitchcapping was where British soldiers filled a wooden bowl with hot tar and placed it on the heads of the captured Irish.

Half Hanging Half hanging was used to interrogate suspected rebels.

The end of the uprising Wolftone himself was eventually arrested and put on trial in Dublin. When he was sentenced to death, he asked for death by firing squad but was refused. Instead he was hanged. Small rebel activities continued for the next few years but amounted to very little.

Wolftone Grave, Bodenstown, Co. Kildare

Act of Union 1800 Shortly after the failed uprisings, the British took away all government and decision making from the Irish. Now Westminster would make all of the decisions for Ireland. Independence seemed a long way away…