Today in Labor History August 27, 1798: An army of 2,000 French troops and United Irishmen, led by Wolfe Tone, routed a combined force of 6,000 British and Protestant loyalist soldiers in the Battle of Castlebar, during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Wolfe Tone’s Society of United Irishmen formed in the wake of the French Revolution in order to win “equal representation in government for all people,” emancipation of Catholics and an independent Ireland. The organization was composed of both Protestants and Catholics who vowed to make common cause in their struggle. They organized primarily among the working class and tenant farmers. The Irish Rebellion lasted from late 5/24/1798-10/12/1798. Up 50,000 Irish rebels and civilians died in the uprising, along with up to 2,000 loyalist troops.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #ireland #irish #rebellion #unitedirishmen #wolfetone #catholic #frenchrevolution #independence

Today in Labor History August 27, 1798: An army of 2,000 French troops and United Irishmen, led by Wolfe Tone, routed a combined force of 6,000 British and Protestant loyalist soldiers in the Battle of Castlebar, during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Wolfe Tone’s Society of United Irishmen formed in the wake of the French Revolution in order to win “equal representation in government for all people,” emancipation of Catholics and an independent Ireland. The organization was composed of both Protestants and Catholics who vowed to make common cause in their struggle. They organized primarily among the working class and tenant farmers. The Irish Rebellion lasted from late 5/24/1798-10/12/1798. Up 50,000 Irish rebels and civilians died in the uprising, along with up to 2,000 loyalist troops.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #ireland #irish #rebellion #unitedirishmen #wolfetone #catholic #frenchrevolution #independence

“The Croppy Boy”, a monument in Tralee, County Kerry. Created by Kglavin, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/&gt; via Wikimedia Commons

The pockets of our greatcoats full of barley…
No kitchens on the run, no striking camp…
We moved quick and sudden in our own country.
The priest lay behind ditches with the tramp.
A people hardly marching… on the hike…
We found new tactics happening each day:
We’d cut through reins and rider with the pike
And stampede cattle into infantry,
Then retreat through hedges where cavalry must be thrown.
Until… on Vinegar Hill… the final conclave.
Terraced thousands died, shaking scythes at cannon.
The hillside blushed, soaked in our broken wave.
They buried us without shroud or coffin
And in August… the barley grew up out of our grave.

by Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

This poem is about the Battle of Vinegar Hill which took place outside Enniscorthy in County Wexford on 21st June 1798. It was part of the Rebellion of the United Irishmen. The term “croppy” refers to the short cropped hair worn by the rebels, most of whom went into battle carrying only pikes against the artillery and muskets of the crown forces. The battle was a heavy defeat for the United Irishmen over a thousand of whom were killed in what Heaney calls the “final conclave” where the last hopes for the rebellion to succeed were finally crushed. The poem’s final line depicts the barley in the pockets of dead rebels growing through the soil used to bury them, suggesting that the dream of independence would live on.

https://telescoper.blog/2024/08/26/requiem-for-the-croppies-seamus-heaney/

#Enniscorthy #IrishRebellion1798 #Poem #Poetry #RequiemForTheCroppies #SeamusHeaney #SocietyOfUnitedIrishmen #UnitedIrishmen #VinegarHill

The Second United Irishmen rebellion began on 23rd July 1803 led by Robert Emmet. The rebellion failed and Emmet was captured on 25th August. He was subsequently tried and executed. Emmet's Speech from the dock secured his reputation. He ended it by saying:

"When my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then and not till then, let my epitaph be written."

Here's the full text of the speech:
https://www.nootherlaw.com/archive/emmet-speech-from-the-dock.html

#IrishHistory #Ireland #RobertEmmet #UnitedIrishmen #OnThisDay

162,000 convicts were transported to Australia between 1788 and 1868.
3,600 (1 in 45) were #politicalprisoners Some are beginning to understand the brutality of the #colonisation process and the continuing profound implications for this continent's #FirstNations People, as a result of colonisation.

• Wednesday 20th March
Vinegar Hill, Ireland 1798 - #VinegarHill, Australia 1804 – “The #UnitedIrishmen

6:30pm for 7:00pm start @FootscrayHotel – 48 Hopkins St, Footscray

#workingclasshistory

USIHS Lecture
Dr Tim Murtagh: ‘Apprenticeship to Revolution: Workers and Tradesmen in the 1798 Rebellion’

Thursday 9th November at 6pm (QUB – 27 University Square 01/003 and online via Zoom)
Register at: https://usihs36.com/ #1798 #UnitedIrishmen #IrishHistory

Today in Labor History August 27, 1798: An army of 2,000 French troops and United Irishmen, led by Wolfe Tone, routed a combined force of 6,000 British and Protestant loyalist soldiers in the Battle of Castlebar, during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Wolfe Tone’s Society of United Irishmen formed in the wake of the French Revolution in order to win “equal representation in government for all people,” emancipation of Catholics and an independent Ireland. The organization was composed of both Protestants and Catholics who vowed to make common cause in their struggle. They organized primarily among the working class and tenant farmers. The Irish Rebellion lasted from late 5/24/1798-10/12/1798. Up 50,000 Irish rebels and civilians died in the uprising, along with up to 2,000 loyalist troops.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #ireland #irish #rebellion #UnitedIrishmen #WolfeTone #catholic #FrenchRevolution