The 1798 Rebellion

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The 1798 Rebellion

The 1798 Rebellion was inspired by the revolutions in America and France. It originated in opposition to the Protestant ascendancy which had ruled the country since the end of the Williamite Wars. The catalyst for the rebellion was the formation of the Society of United Irishmen in 1791, which, as its name suggests united Irish Catholics, dissenting and liberal Protestants in opposition to the government of Britain. With the outbreak of war between France and Britain in 1793, the United Irishmen formulated a plan to start a rebellion in conjunction with military assistance from France. Theobald Wolfe Tone travelled from exile in America to France in early 1796 to negotiate with the French government for an invasion force. 15,000 men were sent under command of Gen. Hoche to land at Bantry Bay but the fleet was prevented from landing by storms.

In response to the United Irishmen collaborating with the French, the British imposed martial law in parts of Ireland in 1797. The military was brutal in putting down suspected treason, so much so that they started a minor rebellion in Cahir, Co. Tipperary. Loyalists joined the militias that would fight the rebellion. Much of the United Irish leadership was arrested in early 1798. Its remaining leaders, Neilson and Lord Edward Fitzgerald planned a rebellion for 23rd May without French aid. Fitzgerald was arrested on May 18th. He was fatally injured during his arrest and died on June 4th.

The plan for the rebellion was to capture the Dublin garrisons and for the surrounding counties to rise in order to prevent government reinforcements from the country side moving to Dublin. The signal for the rebellion was to be the interception of the mail coaches travelling from Dublin on the night of May 23rd. The plans miscarried however. The assembly areas for the Dublin rebels were betrayed by informers and occupied by soldiers an hour before the designated time. In addition only one mail coach was stopped, in Naas. Consequently the 1798 Rebellion got off to an inauspicious and sputtering start.

24th May 1798

Co. Kildare

Ballymore-Eustace

The Battle of Ballymore-Eustace began about 1 am on May 24th 1798. The town, situated on the Wicklow/Kildare border, had a garrison of about 50 men from the 9th Regt of Dragoons and the Tyrone, Antrim and Armagh Militias billeted on the population. Approximately 120 men had been withdrawn just the day before.
The United Irishmen co-ordinated their attacks so that all the houses in which the soldiers were billeted were attacked simultaneously. All went according to plan except for the failure to take the garrison headquarters which became a rallying point for the troops. The attack continued for two hours but the rebels were unable to take the building and lost many men. Eventually the Dragoons charged out of their positions and routed the United Irishmen.
About 100 United Irishmen died in the battle along with 12 government troops. Several houses were destroyed and the Protestant church burnt down.

Naas

A force of over 1,000 rebels, led by Michael Reynolds attacked Naas at about 2.30am. At the time Naas was the strongest garrison in Kildare, numbering about 250 men. The rebel attack was launched from three directions, achieving some surprise and driving the garrison back to the barracks. A series of fierce attacks on the barracks ensued until the military managed to bring two artillery pieces to bear on the rebels after the demolition of several buildings. Under artillery fire, the rebels began to waver. A cavalry charge caused the rebels to retreat. The United Irishmen lost about 135 men and the government troops about 25.

Prosperous

Prosperous, Co. Kildare was attacked by a force of 600 United Irishmen at 2 o'clock in the morning. The town was garrisoned by the Cork and Armagh Militias and part of a Welsh Cavalry unit. A small force climbed the walls of the Militia Barracks, killed the sentries and opened the gate. The main force surrounded the barracks and prevented an attempt by the militia to break out The militia commander, Captain Swayne, was killed in the attempt. The garrison was trapped in the upper rooms of the barracks which was set ablaze. The soldiers were finally forced to jump from the windows onto the waiting pikes below. About 50 militiamen were killed. Prosperous remained in rebel hands until June 19th.

Kilcullen

As news of the rebellion spread local rebels began to muster in an old graveyard south of Kilcullen. Here they were joined by some survivors from Ballymore-Eustace bringing the number of rebels to 200. About daybreak they were spotted by the military under command of Gen. Dundas whose HQ was just a few miles away in Castle Martin.

Dundas led an attack by 120 men on the rebels. 80 cavalry charged the graveyard but were driven off with the loss of 30 men by the rebels who had entrenched themselves behind the ditches and walls with their pikes. The Loyalist infantry covered the retreat of the cavalry over Kilcullen bridge.

By early morning, the United Irismen numbers had swelled to 1,000. It was decided to garrison Turnpike Hill in order to cut the Loyalist troops off from reinforcements from Dublin. About 9 amDundas sent a party of cavalry towards the hill with the intention of luring the rebels off it. This ruse succeeded and the United Irishmen were drawn onto government infantry who fired several volleys into the United Irish ranks. The rebels withdrew to the river where they were routed by a cavalry charge. Around 150 men were killed.

Despite this Dundas ordered a general withdrawal to Naas by all forces in Kildare. The remaining Kilcullen rebels surrendered to Dundas at Knockaulin Hill on May 27th.

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25th May 1798

Co. Carlow

The Battle Of Carlow

The United Irishmen of Co. Carlow assembled outside the town on the night of the 24th May under command of Michael Heydon, a local cobbler. Numbering about 1,200 men they entered the town unopposed. As they marched down Tullow Street the rebels were ambushed by government troops, concealed in the houses along the street, who poured volley after volley into the United Irish ranks. The rebels took cover in unoccupied houses which were set alight by the military. Approximately 500 men, women and children, rebels and innocent civilians, died in the fighting. In subsequent days surviving United Irishmen were rounded up and summarily executed by the government forces. In all the Battle of Carlow resulted in around 650 deaths. The dead rebels were buried in a mass grave in an old sand pit outside the town.

Croppy's Grave, Carlow

Co. Wicklow

Carnew Massacre

In Carnew Co. Wicklow, news of the rebellion prompted the local militia to take 38 United Irish prisoners that they were holding in Carnew Castle out and execute them. Anyone that watches the programme Who Do You Think You Are on television will recall that Graham Norton's ancestors took part in the massacre. Wexford rebels under Anthony Perry burned Carnew on June 7th in revenge.

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26th May 1798

Co. Meath

The Battle Of Tara Hill

Following the beginning of the rebellion the United Irishmen of Co. Meath began to assemble at the Hill of Tara. By the morning of the 26th they numbered some 4,000 men and women. During the day a party of rebels ambushed the baggage party of the Reay Fencibles, a Scottish militia regiment travelling from Cavan to Dublin. The rebels succeeded in making off with the Scots' baggage but it proved a short-lived victory.

In the evening the Reay Fencibles and two troops of Yeomanry attacked the United Irishmen positions on Tara Hill. The rebels took up positions behind the ditches and stone walls on the hill but they were out-gunned by the Scots. The rebels broke under a bayonet charge and were dispersed by the cavalry. About 400 United Irishmen died in the fighting and approximately 30 government troops.

One of the dead United Irishmen was a woman named Molly Weston. Her four brothers also died in the battle. Molly led several charges of pikemen against the Fencibles before she died.

The defeat of the rebels at Tara probably checked the spread of the rebellion.

Co. Wicklow
The Massacre at Dunlavin Green

A few days before the outbreak of the rebellion, the militia commander in Dunlavin paraded his men and informed them that he had knowledge that several among them were members of the United Irishmen. He called on those men to confess and 28 did so in the hope of receiving clemency. The men were placed in detention.

When news of the rebellion reached Dunlavin on the 26th these prisoners were taken to the village green and along with 8 civilians were executed in batches of five by firing squad. The intention was to discourage rebellion in the area and revenge for the deaths of comrades in Ballymore-Eustace.

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27th May 1798

Co. Wexford

The Battle Of Oulart Hill

On the evening of May 26th a patrol of 20 or so of the Camolin Cavalry encountered a force of 100 rebels at the Harrow in Co. Wexford. The rebels were led by Fr John Murphy, the local curate and the cavalry by Lt Bookey. The government troops were returning from a search for a United Irishman who's house they had burnt. A skirmish ensued in which two cavalrymen died. This skirmish ignited the rebellion in Wexford with patrols of yeomanry burning houses and killing suspected rebels while the locals set about killing loyalists and burning their houses. Word was sent to Wexford town for reinforcements from the North Cork Militia.

The militia reached the village of Oulart on the afternoon of May 27th to find around 1,000 men women and children camped on Oulart Hill. The troops set fire to some houses at the foot of the hill in the hope of drawing the rebels out of cover. This did not materialise although large numbers of people started to leave the rebel camp hoping to avoid a fight. The cavalry contingent with the militia blocked this withdrawal and the militia advanced up the hill to engage the rebels, firing a couple of ragged volleys.

Unknown to the troops, the rebels had placed an ambush party in cover at right angles to their lines on the hill. When the militiamen had advanced into the killing zone, the rebels loosed a volley at close range and decimated the militiamen. The yeomanry fled after losing one man to gunfire and the infantry was pursued for several miles with only 4 men escaping of the 110 who had advanced up the hill. Rebel losses were six killed.

After the battle north Wexford rose in general rebellion. The military and the loyalist population withdrew to the main towns of Gorey, Wexford and Enniscorthy.

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28th May 1798

Co. Wexford

The Battle Of Enniscorthy

On the evening of the Battle of Oulart Hill, the United Irishmen were led by Fr John Murphy, Edward Roche, George Sparks and Morgan Byrne north to Carrigrua Hill, four miles east of Ferns, where they camped for the night. During the night and the following morning large numbers of people from the surrounding countryside joined them, swelling the rebel ranks to 7,000 people. It should of course be noted that not all these people were fighting men or even United Irishmen. On the morning of the 28th they resumed their march north to Camolin and on to Enniscorthy by noon. The town was defended by 300 government troops equipped with muskets but no artillery.

About 1 pm, the rebels drove a herd of cattle through the towns’s Duffry gate. The panicked animals created disorder among the loyalist defenders, allowing the attackers enter the town. A three hour long battle ensued in which much of the town was set ablaze. Anybody suspected of loyalist sympathies was killed and many personal scores and old enmities settled. Eventually the surviving loyalists abandoned the town and fled towards Wexford.

With the town destroyed the rebel leaders set up camp on Vinegar Hill. Here they sat down to plan their next move. There was a majority opinion that they should attack New Ross. However that evening two members of the Catholic gentry arrived in camp from Wexford. They were Edward Fitzgerald and John Colclough, both of whom had been arrested two days before as suspected members of the United Irishmen. The garrison commander in WexfordTown had sent them with a message for the rebels that they should disperse and return to their homes. The rebel leaders decided to lead their army southwards to attack Wexford Town.

Co. Kildare

The Capture Of Rathangan

Throughout the day of Thursday 24th May, rebels gathered near Rathangan attacking and burning some houses. A detachment of the South Cork Militia commanded by a Capt Langton was in occupation. They however had been ordered to Sallins. The local Yeomanry captain, one James Spencer, persuaded Capt Langton to stay in the town. That night a large rebel force attacked the town from two different directions and were driven off by the troops with the loss of 13 rebels. Langton and the militia marched to Sallins next day. At 3 pm on 26th May 5,000 rebels, led by John Doorley, attacked the town, killing 19 Loyalists including James Spencer. Those who survived fled to Edenderry.

At dawn on Monday 28th May, a force under Lt. Colonel Mahon marched from Tullamore to recapture Rathangan. He encountered rebels outside the town and killed 15 of them. He failed to capture the town, however, and lost 3 men in the attack. Around 8 am Mahon was reinforced and once more attacked the town. Once again his troops were repulsed. This time they lost 4 killed and 2 wounded.

Around 11am reinforcements under a Col Longfield arrived. They included detachments of dragoons, the City of Cork Militia and 2 artillery pieces. After a short artillery bombardment, the defenders fled and were pursued by the cavalry who killed around 50 of them. Longfield reported the next day that he took no prisoners. Some of the captured rebels were hanged in the main street, including their leader Edward Molloy.

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29th May 1798
Co. Kildare

The Gibbet Rath Massacre

On May 27th Maj-Gen. Sir James Duff left Limerick on a forced march to Dublin with a force of 600 men, mainly of the Dublin Militia. He also had seven artillery pieces with him. His objectives were to reopen communications between Dublin and Limerick and to put down any rebellion he met en route. His men arrived in Monasterevin early on the morning of the 29th where they discovered that many rebels were surrendering with the promise of amnesty. The Dubliners were unimpressed however as they had been finding the bodies of dead Loyalists on their journey including the son of the commander of the Dublin Militia and Duff's own nephew. Duff brought his men to Gibbet Rath on the Curragh which was the designated spot for the rebels to gather and surrender their arms. By the time they got there between 1,000 and 2,000 rebels had assembled.

Duff ordered the rebels to stack their arms. Once they had done so the soldiers began firing into the crowd of rebels and the cavalry started to hack at them with their swords. Several contradictory reasons have been put forward as to why the massacre began. Some claim that Duff simply ordered the killings, others that some rebels opened fire first. Another account claims that one rebel merely cleared his musket by firing in the air and panicked the troops. Whatever the cause, approximately 350 rebels were killed at Gibbet Rath. Capt John Giffard, who's son's body they had found the day before, claimed that they killed 500 rebels and burned Kildare town. Duff marched on to Dublin where he received a hero's welcome next day.

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30th May 1798

Co. Wexford

The Battle of Three Rocks

With most of the countryside of countyWexford in rebel hands the loyalist population was now confined to the towns of Wexford, New Ross and Bunclody. On May 29th Gen Fawcett, commander of the garrison in FortDuncannon, set out with 200 men to reinforce Wexford town. An artillery column of 100 men marched later in the day with orders to RV with him at Taghmon. Fawcett's men camped in Taghmon overnight while the artillery arrived there at 2am on the 30th. For some reason the artillery column did not make contact with Fawcett but marched on alone.

The government troops were apparently unaware of the presence of the rebels in south Wexford. A force of between 1,000 and 2,000 United Irishmen commanded by Thomas Cloney was stationed at Forth mountain, about 5 miles west of Wexford town and on the line of march of the artillery column. Cloney deployed his men in ambush positions in an area called Three Rocks at the eastern end of the hill. As the government troops entered the killing zone early in the morning of May 30th they were met by a volley of musketry and a massive charge by pikemen. 70 soldiers were killed in minutes and the remainder fled. The rebels captured the artillerymen's two howitzers. The fleeing soldiers reached Taghmon a couple of hours after the battle. Fawcett, with his artillery support lost, retreated to Duncannon.

In Wexford Gen Maxwell received reports of the fighting to the west and sent out a cavalry patrol. This patrol ran into the rebels forming up with their new cannon and ready to march on Wexford. The cavalry withdrew, losing an officer in the process. With news of the defeat at Three Rocks, rebels armed with cannon and massing to the north of the town, the corporation sent out envoys to negotiate a surrender. Meanwhile the garrison legged it to Duncannon. The United Irishmen entered the town unopposed, rounded up any loyalists they found and set up a Committee of Public Safety based on the French Revolutionary model.

The United Irishmen remained in control of Wexford until the middle of June. The occupation was marked by the massacre of 90 loyalist prisoners on Wexford Bridge on 20th June.

Co. Wicklow

The Battle of Newtownmountkennedy

Newtownmountkennedy was attacked by a force of some 800 rebels on the morning of the 30th May. The town was defended by about 140 government troops of the Ancient Britons, the Antrim Militia, and local yeomanry. The rebels set the stables of the cavalry ablaze along with some houses. However they were driven off by the military whose commander, Capt Burgany was killed, and two lieutenants wounded.

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Leaders of the Wexford Rebellion

Bagenal Harvey

A Wexford Protestant, Harvey was a member of the United Irishmen. Arrested on May 26th he was held in Wexford Gaol until freed when the town was captured by the rebels. Harvey was appointed Commander in Chief of the army and commanded at New Ross. He resigned after the defeat there and returned to Wexford where he was appointed President of the town committee. He and John Colclough were arrested on Great Saltee Island at the end of June and returned to Wexford where they were hanged on June 28th.

Fr. John Murphy

Born at Tincurry, Co. Wexford in 1753 and ordained for the priesthood in Spain in 1779. In 1785 he became Parish Priest at Boolavogue near Enniscorthy. Fr Murphy wasn't a United Irishman and in fact he was opposed to rebellion, encouraging his parishioners to loyalty to the crown. However once his parishioners attacked the Yeomen at the Harrow Fr Murphy led them in revolt. At first the rebels were victorious at Oulart and Enniscorthy, then defeat followed at Vinegar Hill. Fr Murphy led his surviving troops out of Wexford and into Co. Carlow where another defeat followed at Kilcumney Hill. Separated from his followers, Murphy and a companion, James Gallagher, made for Tullow where relatives of the priest lived. They were captured near Tullow on July 2nd and executed in the town square. Murphy was flogged, hung, decapitated and his body burnt in a barrel of pitch.

Fr. Mogue Kearns

Mogue Kearns was born in Kiltealy into a farming family.

After his ordination he was appointed curate of Balyna, Co. Kildare but was dismissed by his Bishop for his political activities. Returning to Wexford, he lived in Enniscorthy and joined the Insurgents at the start of the rebellion. He fought at Enniscorthy on 28th May and at Newtownbarry on the 1st of June. He was wounded at Vinegar Hill and carried by his comrades back to Wexford. When his wound had healed he joined a large number of insurgents who were hiding in Killoughram Woods.

Kearns was captured and executed in Edenderry, Co. Offaly, on 12th July 1798. He and Anthony Perry, hung at the same time, were buried together in the cemetery of Monasteroris where a large Celtic cross now marks their grave.

John Kelly

Not a lot known about John Kelly except he came from Killane, fought in the rising for a week, was in the battles at Three Rocks and New Ross where he was badly wounded at the Three Bullet Gate. Taken to Wexford he was captured when the town fell to Gen Lake. John Kelly was executed at the end of June and immortalised in song a century later as Kelly, the Boy from Killane. Incidentally Three Bullet Gate in 1798 is reputedly the bearna baoil referred to in Amhrán na Bhfiann.

Fr. Michael Murphy

Michael Murphy was born in Co. Wexford, probably near Oulart. He was ordained in Wexford in 1785 and then went to France. He later became parish priest of Ballycanew where he joined the rebellion when his church was ransacked by the yeomen, on 27th May 1798. He was killed at the battle of Arklow on June 9th 1798 leading an attack on a gun position which defended the western approach to the town and is buried at Castle Ellis.

Anthony Perry

Anthony Perry was a Protestant, a member of the United Irishmen and their organiser for North Wexford. He lived near Inch. He was also Lieutenant in the Coolgreany Yeomen Cavalry Corps. Arrested about 23rd May 1798 he was held in Gorey. Bagenal Harvey was reputedly arrested due to information supplied by Perry under torture. Anthony Perry and Fr. Mogue Kearns were captured at Clonbollogue, Co. Offaly on the 12th July and hanged at Edenderry.

Fr. Philip Roche

Philip Roche was born in Monagrena near Boolavogue in 1760. He was ordained in Wexford on 17th May 1785. He was curate in Ballyfad near Gorey where he came into contact with the United Irishmen in the early 1790s.

At the outbreak of the rebellion Roche immediately joined the insurgents. After the capture of Enniscorthy on 28th May, he served on a committee of twelve that controlled the affairs of the insurgent camp on Vinegar Hill.

After the Insurgent defeat at New Ross, Roche was elected commander-in-chief, replacing Bagenal Harvey. On 19th June, as government forces approached, Roche broke camp at Lacken Hill and ordered a retreat to the Three Rocks outside Wexford town. From there, the rebel forces engaged Sir John Moore’s troops at Goff’s Bridge.

After the defeat at Vinegar Hill on 21st June, Roche decided to surrender himself in Wexford town and to try to obtain terms of surrender for the insurgent forces. He was jailed in Wexford, court-martialled on 24th June, and on June 25th, at 11 o’clock he and eight others were executed on Wexford bridge.

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1st June 1798

Co. Wexford

The Battle of Newtownbarry

Newtownbarry was the 18th century name for Bunclody.

The three weeks from the beginning of June mark the second phase of the rebellion in Co. Wexford. The leadership of the United Irishmen decided to break their forces into two separate armies, one to break out of Wexford to the west through New Ross and the other north towards Dublin.

Fr. Mogue Kearns led 5,000 men against the garrison of Newtownbarry. The garrison had put outposts facing the rebel line of advance in front of the town. The rebels occupied high ground west of the town and, using an artillery piece captured at Three Rocks, drove the defenders back to the town. The rebel infantry followed hot on their heels and the government troops withdrew across the bridge into Co. Carlow.

Here it fell to pieces for the rebels. The leaders obviously lost control because they failed to guard the bridge and their troops began looting in the assumption that the battle was won. However there were still government troops trapped within the town and these opened fire from the cover of houses. Meanwhile the retreating troops across the bridge reformed and launched a counter attack back into the town. The rebels were routed and lost 400 men in the fighting. What had been a virtually bloodless victory became a bloody defeat.

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Government Commanders in the Wexford Rebellion

Gen Sir John Moore

John Moore was born in Glasgow on 13th November 1761, the son of a doctor.

He joined the Army in 1776 as an Ensign in the 51st Foot. From 1778 to 1783 he fought in North America with the 82nd Foot before returning to Britain where he was elected to the House of Commons in 1784. He purchased his Majority in 1787 and served in Corsica from 1791 where he was wounded. He was promoted Lt-Col but fell foul of the Viceroy of Corsica and was posted to the West Indies, a virtual death sentence in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1798 he was a Maj-Gen in Ireland and commanded the southern column of government troops in Wexford at the battles of Lacken Hill, Goff’s Bridge, Foulkesmills and the capture of Wexford town.

In 1799 he commanded a brigade in Flanders, then the experimental training depot of the Light Infantry at Shorncliffe. He was knighted in 1804 and promoted Lt-General. In 1806 he fought in the Mediterranean and in 1808 in the Baltic.

In 1808 he was appointed to command in the Iberian Peninsula where he was killed in action at La Coruna, Spain on January 16th 1809.

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4th June 1798

Co. Wexford

The Battle of Tubberneering

Tubberneering is 5 miles south west of Gorey.

The battle was actually an ambush of a force of government troops, commanded by Lt-Col Walpole, which was attempting to advance into Co. Wexford as part of an offensive against the rebels. Walpole's troops numbered 400 men consisting of yeomanry and militia and also a troop of regular cavalry, from the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards. The ambush took place in a narrow ravine and resulted in the deaths of 100 men, including Walpole, and the capture of three cannon.


The defeat at Tubberneering caused some panic in loyalist ranks and the town of Arklow was subsequently evacuated. The United Irishmen failed to capitalise on this however and instead of advancing to take Arklow they merely occupied Gorey. By the time they resumed the advance into Wicklow, Arklow had been reoccupied.

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5th June 1798

Co. Wexford

The Battle of New Ross

The Battle of New Ross was fought in an attempt by the United Irishmen to capture the town and its strategically important bridge and thus break out of Co. Wexford across the river Barrow, spreading the rebellion into the western counties of Leinster and into Munster.

On June 4th the rebels advanced from Carrigbyrne Hill to Corbett Hill outside New Ross. The rebels numbered approximately 10,000, the defenders of the town 2,000. The commanders of the United Irishmen were Bagenal Harvey, John Kelly and Fr Philip Roche. On the Government side Gen Henry Johnson and Luke Gardiner, Viscount Mountjoy.

The action began at dawn on June 5th. The rebel forces were divided into three columns. One, 500 men under John Kelly, was to rush the Three Bullet Gate. The second to attack the Priory Gate and the third, the Market Gate. The defenders hadn't been idle. They had been expecting an attack since the fall of Wexford and had dug trenches outside the town, occupied by skirmishers and had placed cannon inside the town covering the gates and the streets.

An emissary named Matt Furlong was sent to call for the garrison to surrender. Matt however was shot dead by the skirmishers outside the Three Bullet Gate precipitating a rush by Kelly and the men of his column. The attacks on the other agtes commenced but the men attacking the Market Gate retreated in the face of heavy enemy fire. The defenders seized the opportunity to sally forth with cavalry to take the attacking columns in the flank. However the columns stood and their massed pikes halted the cavalry charges. The attacks were renewed and the Three Bullet Gate fell, allowing the rebesl to stream into the town. They suffered heavily from cannon fire from secondary defences within the town. Fighting continued until noon when reinforcements pushed the rebels out of the town.

In a grisly aftermath to the battle, the loyalists spent the rest of the day searching for and executing rebels wherever they were found. Hundreds of wounded were believed to have been slaughtered, some being burned alive when the buildings in which they had sought shelter were set ablaze. Government troops reported the rebel casualties at 2,806 men. In retaliation the rebels at Scullabogue set fire to a barn used to hold Loyalist prisoners. Between 100 and 200 people perished. Some 230 government troops died in the battle of New Ross, including Lord Mountjoy.

The rebels reformed at Sliabh Coillte but did not attack New Ross again. Bagenal Harvey resigned as Commander in Chief to be replaced by Fr. Philip Roche. The failure at New Ross meant that the rebellion in the south of the country was contained within Co. Wexford.

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7th June 1798

Co. Antrim

The Battle of Antrim

The United Irishmen of Ulster hesitated to act in support of the Leinster rebellion because it had been badly mauled in a government disarmament campaign the year before which also saw its leaders arrested. Losing patience with the prevarication of the new leadership, the United Irishmen met in early June and elected Henry Joy McCracken Adjutant Gen. He and James Hope planned to attack all garrisons in Co. Antrim and then march on Belfast. On June 6th the rebels took the towns of Portaferry, Ballymena and Randalstown and assembled at Donegore Hill in preparation for the march on AntrimTown. Meanwhile the magistrates of the county met in the town under Lord John O'Neill to discuss how to deal with the rebellion.

On June 7th Antrim was garrisoned by 200 Yeomanry under Lt-Col William Lumley. Lumley position 4 cannon and his Yeomanry between the Market House and the Presbyterian church with their backs to the wall of AntrimCastle.

About 3 pm McCracken led about 4,000 men into the town, advancing slowly through the streets. When they came within range they were driven back by artillery fire from the government lines. The smoke and dust of battle, and a blaze in the Scottish quarter started by the troops, obscured the garrison's view of the rebel dispositions. The cavalry charged an apparently routed enemy only to find many more of them in cover in houses along the main street and behind a churchyard wall. The cavalry was decimated by musket fire and pikemen at close quarters. The rebels advanced anew and began to drive the government troops back into the castle. In the fighting Lumley was severely injured and Lord O'Neill fatally wounded. The rebels were on the cusp of victory when reinforcements arrived from Belfast. The new men, assuming the rebels to control the town began to shell it and drove them back in disarray. James Hope commanded a rearguard action that covered the retreat from the town and prevented a rout. The victorious Monaghan Militia sacked and burned the town.

Around 300 United Irishmen and 60 Government troops died in the Battle of Antrim.

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9th June 1798

Co. Down

The Battle of Saintfield

On Saturday 9th June about 1,000 rebels attacked a house belonging to the loyalist McKee family near Saintfield, Co. Down. In a short fight several rebels were shot dead before the house was fired and eight members of the McKee family killed. When news of the attack reached the nearest government garrison, Col Granville Stapylton marched with 300 men of the Newtownards Yeomanry and the York Fencibles to punish the rebels. He also had two light cannon in support.

The rebels meanwhile, receiving word of the approach of the soldiers, set up an ambush on a wooded hill overlooking the military's line of march. A soon as the soldiers were in the killing zone the pikemen charged en masse down the hill and crashed into the flank of the marching troops. Within minutes 60 men were dead and the rest in retreat. Stapylton ordered his field guns into action to allow his men escape and killed about 50 rebels.

Co. Wicklow

The Battle of Arklow

Following the rebel victory at Tuberneering, the United Irishmen were presented with an opportunity to break out of Wexford. The government's troops withdrew from Arklow in panic and essentially left the road to Dublin open. Failing to march through that door the rebels lost the initiative. A force of 1,700 men under Col Francis Needham marched form Dublin, reoccupied Arklow and fortified the town.

The rebels, numbering some 9,000 men commanded by Fr Michael Murphy, Billy Byrne, Anthony Perry and Edward Fitzgerald attacked the town on the afternoon of June 9th. They used the cover of gorse and hedges to approach the town in several columns and then, under cover of fire from cannon captured at Tuberneering, rushed the approaches to the town. The defenders had covered these approaches with cannon and musket fire. The rebels were decimated by the British fire. Needham then launched a cavalry charge to rout the United Irishmen but the cavalry was forced back by rebel pikemen. Several more attacks were launched on the town but the rebel will to continue in the face of mounting casualties began to disappear. Eventually near dark Fr Murphy died attacking an artillery position and the rebels withdrew under cover of darkness leaving 1,000 dead on the field. Government dead numbered 60 men. The defeat at Arklow broke the will of the rebels to spread the rebellion beyond Wexford. Boxed in to the county the government's advantage in numbers, supplies and freedom of movement meant that the rebels day were numbered.

Unknown to the rebels the government troops were low on ammunition. One more push would probably have see then enter the town and win victory. As Wellington said of Waterloo, Arklow was "the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life".

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13th June 1798

Co. Down

The Battle of Ballynahinch

The United Irishmen were led at Ballynahinch by Henry Munro, a Presbyterian linen merchant of Scottish ancestry from Lisburn. Munro had only taken over leadership of the Down UI a week previously on the arrest of Rev William Dickson. After the Battle of Saintfield, Munro joined the rebels there and then moved to their camp at Ednavady Hill, near Ballynahinch. A couple of days later two British columns converged on the rebel positions from Belfast and Downpatrick. Gen Nugent, commanding the Belfast column, fired Saintfield as he passed through it.

The battle began on the evening of June 12th when the government troops occupied two hills overlooking the town and began to bombard it with their cannon. As darkness fell the government troops occupied the town. Some of the rebel leadership proposed a night attack on the town but Munro refused. When dawn broke the British attacked rebel positions on Windmill Hill but were repulsed. However Munro feared that the men on the hill would be surrounded and cut off so he ordered a withdrawal from Windmill Hill. Some rebels didn't get the order and were subsequently captured and hanged.

Munro now concentrated his attack on the town where the building would render Nugent's cannon less effective. In house to house fighting the government troops were pushed back. The rebels hearing the retreat sounded on bugles assumed that government reinforcements had arrived and they themselves retreated. Caught in the open by cavalry and a target for the British cannon, the rebels were quickly routed. In the battle and subsequent pursuit about 400 rebels died for the loss of 40 government soldiers. Munro attempted to rally his men on Ednavady Hill. Almost surrounded and well outnumbered they barely managed to escape. Munro was captured a day later and executed in Lisburn on June 16th.

The defeat at Ballynahinch essentially ended the rebellion in Ulster. Rebel reinforcements that had been marching towards Ballynahinch from the west returned home and disbanded.