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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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