Memorials of 1798 in County Carlow
I suppose it is getting a little bit boring to talk about 1798 to the
present generation. Whenever 1798 is mentioned most of the younger
Carlow people today associate that period of time with county Wexford
and possibly now county Wicklow. Now strange to say, Carlow was actually
more prepared for the rising than Wexford was, but what has often been
the curse of plans for Irish freedom, the 'thirty pieces of silver' or
their equivalent, saw Irish hopes dashed and Irish blood spilled. Carlow
were actually in their field before Wexford and had plans for the
capture of Carlow town made and endeavoured to put them into action
before the first stroke was struck in Wexford. But again the informants
got to work and the garrison commanders were informed of what and when
it was going to happen. This led to the massacre of 640 United Irishmen
in Tullow Street on the 25th May in 1798. A Celtic Cross at
Graiguecullen is all that now reminds us of their gallant effort and the
price they paid for Ireland.
Mention of the Celtic Cross reminds me of the fact that there are 57 '98
memorials in county Carlow.
They are scattered over the length and breadth of the county. I wonder
how many Carlow people could tell a stranger where they are, even those
in his own town, village or sacred spot let alone tell what is the
inscription on them or incidents connected with them. Let us take the
Celtic Cross we have just been talking about, the inscription on it
reads first in Irish and then in English "In memory of the 640 United
Irishmen who gave their lives for their country, at the Battle of Carlow
May 25th 1798".
Other memorials at the Croppy Graves read:
Talk not of
their dismal failure, mock not at their courage vain, For today we reap
the harvest, which they sowed that here were slain (Wm Nolan, Ballon)
and at Potato Market" To unite the whole people of Ireland, To banish
the memory of all past dissensions and to substitute the common name of
Irishman in the place of the denominations of Protestant Catholic and
Dissenter (Wolfe Tone). There are many other inscriptions at scenes of
battles, hangings and other events which took place both before and
after 1798 throughout the county. Then there are other memorials to people of whom we have heard little or
little about or the stories attached to them.
One such story is
associated with the headstone of Denis Carew in Leighlinbridge. Denis
was hanged in Murdering Lane in Leighlinbridge on June 13th 1798 and the
story is told that as he walked to the scaffold, his wife walked with
him and handed him a clean shirt. As she handed him the shirt he looked
at her and said "What will become of you and the children now?" Her
reply was "God and the good neighbours will look after myself and the
children" and then staring him straight in the face she gave him the
shirt and said "Never leave a widow but myself". By this she meant that
he was never to betray any of his comrades.
He had already been tortured
and his shirt was covered in blood, the clean shirt was a symbol of his
innocence. His wife brought home his body, as was the usual procedure
after a rebel was hanged, he had been beheaded as she carried his head
in her apron. This is but one of the many stories that were told of the
brave women who were prepared to loose everything sooner then turn
informer themselves or see their loved ones disgrace a family name.
While in that part of the county, let us take a look at another
memorial, this time also to another brave Carlow woman, Teresa Malone,
it is in Ballinkillen graveyard.
The story goes that nine ancient Britons rode to the home of a man by
the name of John Murphy and set it on fire. They did not know that four
of the Wexford rebels were sheltering in the barn following the battle.
While five of the soldiers were still in the yard, the Wexford men
decided that they had often faced greater odds and attacked the five in
the yard. In seconds the five horses were a rider less and the remaining
four spurred down the road towards their camp.
It was then that
Teresa
Malone ran from where she had been hiding and picking up a pistol
mounted a horse and sped after the soldiers. As she swept around a bend
in the road she found herself face to face with one of the Ancient
Britons. He demanded her to stop and without a moments hesitation she
shot him with her pistol, spun her horse around and headed for the rebel
camp upon the hill and upon reaching it was warmly greeted by the
rebels.
She is said to have lived to be 90 years old and died at the time of the
Fenian Rising of 1868. Even at her funeral a big force of military were
present, fearing that it might be the cause of more trouble. She is
interred in the burial plot of the Murphys of Ballyellen Mills. These
Murphys were of the same family as John Murphy of Kilcumney, owner of
the house which had been burned in 1798. The plaque to her memory reads
"To the memory of Teresa Malone, Heroine of the battle of Kilcumney.
This is followed by the last lines of the ballad of the Battle of
Kilcumney".
I suppose I would never be forgiven if I did not include a strange story
about a field off the Garryhasten Road near Clonegal. The field in
question is known as "Sheils field". It was known that a family named
Sheil once lived there but no one now living in the Clonegal area knew
anything about them.
In 1998 the Clonegal Pike Group travelled to almost
every commemoration parade in Leinster and a good few outside it. One of
the outside Leinster parades was Killala, Co. Mayo on 22nd of August
1998. As the lads and lasses were walking back from the landing place in
Killala they passed several cars parked by the roadside. As they were
passing one particular car the driver who was sitting in the car
remarked "Well done Wexford men, my ancestors came from your county".
Some of the lads stopped and the late Eamonn Whelan R.I.P asked him from
what part of Wexford did they come.
This was his reply "Oh it was from a
town land that I suppose you never heard of, It was called Garryhasten".
At this he was asked what his name and he replied Sheil's. He was truly
amazed when the lads told him that it was in their parish and that they
actually had Garryhasten people in their group. They went on to tell him
about Sheil's field and he told them that he had often heard his father
say that he had been told there were six brothers in the family in 1798
and that the six went to fight on Vinegar Hill. Only one returned the
other five were killed. Shortly after that the family left Garryhasten
and went to live in Co. Mayo. This was surely a strange coincidence and
it made such an impression on the group that they had a sign erected at
the entrance to the field with the words "Sheils Bro's 1798 Homestead"
and an arrow pointing towards the field. There are stories to be told
about almost every sign or plaque in the county. Maybe sometime in the
future we will tell more.
-
Courtesy
of Willie White and the Carlow Nationalist
-
August 2005
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Attack on Borris
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