Taghmon in 1798
|
Tom Williams |
Almost every parish in County Wexford had some involvement in the
events of 1798. This connection may have been central to the core of
the rebellion, as was the case in Castlebridge/Screen, Boolavogue and
Oulart, where many of the leaders such as, Edward Fitzgerald, Edward
Roche, Edward Hay and Fr. John Murphy were residing, or it may
have been peripheral, like in many parts of the county whose
inhabitants were tempted into participation by the opportunity to
avenge long felt injustices. The early successes of the rebel army acted
as a major recruiting boost and many joined their insurgent comrades
following the victories at Oulart and Enniscorthy. Likewise, the
loyalist side saw its numbers swollen, as hundreds of yeomen were
called to arms by their masters, to protect their property against what
they saw as the rampaging hordes who were about to eject them from
their holdings.
As far as can be ascertained, Taghmon's involvement in the 1798
period has not heretofore been recorded in any detail, except where the
events centred on the parish, such as the Battle of Horetown and to a
lesser extent, the Battle of The Three Rocks.
The participation of the inhabitants of the parish in the 1798
Insurrection was somewhat more than peripheral and prominent
citizens are known to have taken an active part on both sides of the
divide.
FABRIC OF TAGHMON IN 1798
The village was centrally situated, positioned as it was on the main
route from Wexford to New Ross. There were two routes from
Wexford to Duncannon. The lower route went through the baronies of
Forth and Bargy and the upper route went through Taghmon. The
inhabitants of the village saw at first hand the movements of loyalist
and rebel troops, as the constant marching of armies echoed through
the old streets of the village. A government garrison was stationed
there, a fact that did not deter many of the locals from becoming
involved in the United cause. There was also a significant, organised
branch of the rebels at nearby Rosegarland, under John Murphy of
Loughnageer.
An article written in The People Newspaper in 1934 describes
Taghmon in 1734. It states that the village then had a distillery, a
brewery, a tanyard, a foundry and a stone cutting works. There was a
large linen industry at Coolaw employing 170 people. The linen was
bleached at the rear of Stream Street at the place known locally as
'The Bleach'. The brewery stood at Mahony's Row near the site now
occupied by Carroll's Garage and the waters of St. Munn's Well were
used in the manufacture of the beer. This probably refers to Tobar
Munna, from where a watercourse ran down towards Mahony's Row.
The tannery was situated partly in Tom O'Donnells yard opposite the
castle and covered an area of 2 roods. The distillery occupied the large
yard in Main Street behind O'Donnell's hardware store. Some of the
buildings that held the corn are still in existence. All this was before
Taghmon was bypassed by the new road cut through at Knockeen
Cross. Little if anything, was likely to have changed in the period
from 1734 to 1798. Consequently, Taghmon village in 1798 was a
thriving community and capable of feeding and sustaining the large
numbers of troops that encamped there.
THE ALLEGIANCES IN THE TAGHMON AREA PRIOR TO 1798
In the second half of the eighteenth century the following residents of
the Taghmon area were admitted as Freemen of Wexford Town:
John Batterton, Taghmon (1776)
James McCoy, Slevoy (1772)
William and John Cooper, Tottenham Green (1792)
John Cullimore (1776)
Maurice Howlin Darcy, Coolcull (1776)
Joseph Martin, Taghmon (1776)
John and Robert Patten, Ozier Hill (1792)
Richard and James Richards, Coolstufe (1776)
William Sutton, Horetown (1776)
John Sparrow, The Cools (1776)
William Shaw, Tottenham Green (1792).
The majority of these names are largely those of establishment figures
and many were active on the loyalist side during the subsequent
rebellion.
Five prominent residents of Taghmon took the Oath of Allegiance
before Walter Hore, Justice of the Peace, in early February 1776. They
were John Breen, Walter Breen, Luke Breen, Francis Breen and
William Devereux who were described as merchants and Roman
Catholick Gentlemen. The fears of the establishment concerning the
activities and political leanings of the Breen's and the Devereux's were
later justified, as members of both families became very prominent, on
the insurgents' side, in the '98 Insurrection twenty two years later.
TAGHMON SIGNATORIES TO THE 1792 RESOLUTION
A further glimpse of the allegiances within the Taghmon area can be
gleaned from the signatories of 450 leading Catholics, which appeared
on the resolution from Co. Wexford in support of the Catholic
Committee in Jan. 1792 . The great majority of the signatories are
middlemen, farmers, businessmen and shopkeepers . The Taghmon
area is strongly represented and includes the names of many of the
families who, six years later, were participants in the Wexford rebel
army in the 1798.
James Boggan, Tincurry
This is probably the family who now spells the name, Bogan, and still
reside at Tincurra, Trinity
Walter Breen, Slade (late Taghmon) He is possibly a relative of John
Breen below. The Breens were brewers, who originally came to
Taghmon from Longford. They occupied the site on which Ward's
house now stands in the centre of the village.
John Breen, Taghmon
This man is probably the father of Francis Breen, the signatory, as
Secretary and Adjutant, with Bagenal Harvey, of the General Order,
issued from the rebel camp at Carrigbyrne on June 6 1798, following
the Battle of Ross, which was designed to impose discipline on the
insurgent army and to prevent looting and killings. John Breen was a
well known liberal and numbered among his friends James Devereux
of Carrickmannan .
James Cooney, Ballybeg
William Devereux, Taghmon - very prominent in '98 - see below.
Garrett Doyle, Taghmon
John Doyle, Taghmon
John Echingham, Ballybeg
Matthew Furlong, Coolraheen
Robert Furlong, Harristown
Dan Gormacon, Tracystown
Dennis Gormacon, Kelly's Quarter
James Harpur,Taghmon - later a rebel magistrate at Taghmon in 1798.
Edward Hore, Taghmon
Math. Kavanagh, Coolenrane
Edward Kearin, Wilkinstown
William Kearney, Taghmon
Richard Lyons, Taghmon -He died in 1795, aged 40. Alice Lyons (Inn
Holder) Taghmon, who claimed losses of £96. 6. 10 for furniture, bed,
clothes and apparel after the 1798 Rebellion , was possibly his widow.
Michael Murphy, Taghmon
John Parle, Coolateggert
Nicholas Pearl, Coolateggart
Thomas Parle, Tottenhamgreen
Richard Rogers Harristown
THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE IS ADMINISTERED
In the weeks and months preceding the Rebellion the spirit of
disaffection among the people was very obvious. Arms were being
manufactured openly, particularly by the local blacksmiths. As a
consequence magistrates began to administer the Oath of Allegiance
on a wide scale. Many Catholic congregations, urged on by their
priests, took the oath. In the week before the rebellion one thousand
people took the oath in the parish of Taghmon and a further two
hundred followed on Whitsunday, 27 May 1798 . In return for their
indication of loyalty they were issued with written protections.
Ironically, many of these notes were found in the pockets of dead
insurgents in the coming weeks.
THE TAGHMON YEOMAN CAVALRY
There was a Taghmon Yeoman Cavalry and a Taghmon Infantry.
There is no mention of the infantry participating in 1798 and the corps
may have disbanded before the rebellion. The Taghmon Yeoman
Cavalry, however, were active throughout the rebellion. Its reputed
strength was at one time eighty men, but during the period of 1798 it
was probably considerably less. Names such as Nathaniel Patten,
Ozier Hill, C. Heatly, Rockview, Wm. Gough (not of the Horetown
family who were Quakers - probably of Raheenduff), John Sutton,
Longraigue, Lt. Francis King (a captain in 1798 and the owner of the
property in Scullabogue where the massacre took place), E.Tottenham,
Tottenham Green, William Fleming, Taghmon and William Hore,
Harperstown, figured among its members at one time or another.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM ALLEN COX
In 1798 the Taghmon Yeoman Cavalry was under the leadership of
Capt. William Allen Cox of Coolcliffe, who was one of the
Churchwardens at the Church of Ireland in Taghmon in 1797/8. The
Cox's were a long established loyalist family and, typical of the period,
were related through marriage to many of the landed families of South
Wexford. Allen Cox was the fourth son of John Cox of Coolcliffe
(d.1793) and Sarah Donovan of Clonmore (d.1810) who married in
1773 . He was closely related to the Hores of Harperstown, as his
grandfather, John Cox (d.1795) had married Mary Hore (d.1792), the
daughter of William Hore. The Cox family was also related, through
marriage, to the Millwards of Ballyharron, the Hughes's of Ballytrent,
the Suttons of Longraigue and the Tottenhams . Musgrave states
that Capt. Cox - had been a captain in the 5th regiment of foot and
had been retired on half pay. The convoluted nature of family
connections with the 1798 Rebellion is demonstrated by the fact that
Elizabeth Cox (d. 1833), an aunt of Allen Cox, married Rev. Frederick
Draffen (c.1740-c.1831) in 1799 . Draffen had been curate of the
Church of Ireland, Taghmon, from 1780 to 1786. In 1798 he was
Protestant Rector in Ardcolm. During the turmoil he saved Fr. James
Dixon of Castlebridge from the hands of an unruly loyalist mob that
attempted to seize him in Bristol, where he had fled in the company of
the LeHunte family of Ardtramont. Dixon was arrested, tried and
sentenced to death by court martial in Waterford in 1799 for his
alleged involvement in the Battle of Tubberneering. His sentence was
later commuted to transportation to Botany Bay. It is widely
acknowledged by historians of today that Fr. James Dixon was
innocent and that he took no part in the rebellion. While he was
awaiting transportation in Waterford Gaol, a petition on his behalf was
received from the liberally minded Rev. Draffen. This letter argued
strongly that Fr. Dixon was totally innocent of any involvement in the
rebellion. The petition was not succesful. Rev. Draffen paid for his
liberal attitude by having his claim, for losses sustained in the
rebellion, turned down by the Dublin authorities.
THE TAGHMON CAVALRY ACTIVE IN WEXFORD TOWN
Following the United Irish victories at Oulart on 27 May and at
Enniscorthy on 28 May, the troops stationed in the town of Wexford
had been expecting an attack by the rebel forces. Early in the morning
of Tuesday, 29 May, Capt. Cox and his Taghmon Cavalry arrived in
Wexford to strengthen the town's garrison. Their presence was
extremely well received by the inhabitants of the town. The open land
between Wexford and New Ross was now, however, totally exposed.
Later that same morning word came through of the debacle at Oulart
and the overwhelming victory of the United forces. Consternation
reigned in the town and a messenger was sent to Duncannon for
further reinforcements.
GENERAL FAWCETT AT TAGHMON
On Tuesday, 29 May, General Fawcett marched with about 200 men
from Duncannon fort in order to reinforce the garrison at Wexford
town. He ordered a detachment of the Meath regiment and four
officers under Capt. Adams, and one corporal and seventeen gunners
of the royal artillery, with two howitzers (a short gun for high-angle
firing of shells at low velocities), commanded by Lt. Birch, to follow
him later. Fawcett halted for the hours of darkness at Taghmon and
billeted his men in local houses. At about 2.00 o'clock on the morning
of the 30 May Capt. Adams and his men arrived, but seeing no sign of
Fawcett and his troops, continued on towards Wexford. They were
apparently encouraged by the reports of the local people that the road
to Wexford was clear of any rebel activity. As they proceeded towards
what is now Barntown, they were again reassured by local people that
all was clear and that no rebels were in the vicinity. There appears to
have been a concentrated and well-planned strategy to lure them into a
trap. As dawn broke on the morning of Wednesday, 30 May they
arrived at the Three Rocks, where they walked into a rebel ambush and
were almost entirely annihilated. John Hay, Edward Fitzgerald and
Edward Roche were present at the Three Rocks, but the principal
leaders in the short victorious action against Adams and his troops
were Thomas Cloney, Robert Carty of Birchgrove, John Kelly of
Killane and Michael Furlong of Templescoby. The howitzers were a
valuable prize for the ill-equipped rebel army, as were the numbers of
muskets, pistols and sabres seized. Lt. Birch and a small number of
survivors escaped and reached Taghmon, where they informed General
Fawcett of the defeat. The general became so alarmed at his
precarious position that he abandoned the reinforcement of Wexford
and retreated with his troops to Duncannon.
The fact that Fawcett and his 200 troops were asleep in the
village, and that Capt. Adams and his force of about 100 men passed
through Taghmon without seeing them is quite remarkable. There had
to be a concentrated effort on the part of the inhabitants of the village
to cover up the presence of General Fawcett and his force.
Meanwhile in the town of Wexford, General Maxwell was
becoming very anxious at the non-arrival of the reinforcements from
Duncannon. He decided to ride out to meet them. He took with him
the Taghmon Cavalry and Capt. Jonas Watson. On seeing the rebels
massed at the Three Rocks and realising that they had possession of
the howitzers, Maxwell and his troops, together with the Taghmon
Cavalry, retreated to Wexford. Before this happened, however, Capt.
Jonas Watson was shot dead by a rebel marksman. Loftus Richards, a
Wexford apothecary, and his brother, Counsellor Richards, were then
sent as envoys from General Maxwell to talk to the rebel forces. This
parley with the insurgents led to Loftus Richards, in the company of
Edward Fitzgerald, being compelled to ride to Taghmon to confirm
that that the remainder of Fawcett's forces had, in fact, retreated to
Duncannon. Counsellor Richards was detained in the rebel camp as a
hostage. When they had ridden to within a mile of Taghmon, they met
a large party with from six to eight car loads of provisions
proceeding to the insurgent camp at the Three Rocks, who confirmed
that the King's forces were in full retreat to Duncannon.
THE ROAD TO ROSS
Following the great meeting of the insurgent leaders at Windmill Hill
on Thursday, 31 May the rebel forces split into three divisions.
Following some unnecessary delays, the southern army, under newly
elected Commander-in-Chief, Bagenal Harvey, marched out of
Wexford towards New Ross. It was dark on Thursday night when
they reached Taghmon and they spent the night in the village in order
to allow for some units to catch up. Bagenal Harvey now made a
choice of a number of splendid young men to compose his staff, all of
whom would, with a little experience, have become distinguished field
officers. Among them was John Devereux of Taghmon, afterwards
General Devereux in the South American Service.
JOHN DEVEREUX
John Devereux was born in Taghmon c.1778 and was the son of
William Devereux, also prominent in the rising. John took part in the
Battle of Ross and possibly had command of a rebel division. There
are many versions of how he escaped detention, but the story that he
was hidden by the Reverend Francis L'Estrange, a Carmelite Friar, of
St. Teresa's, Clarendon St., Dublin may be the true account. A
Horetown Carmelite, Rev. John Byrne, a rebel sympathiser, helped Fr.
Denis Kelly in the performance of his duties as temporary P.P. of
Taghmon, following the suspension of Fr. Bryan Murphy by Bishop
Caulfield. Devereux, as a prominent local Catholic, would have been
acquainted with Fr. Byrne. It appears that Devereux made his
submission, after the rising, to Lord Cornwallis, who befriended him
and took a great interest in his welfare and future prospects. The
Devereux lands in Taghmon were not forfeited because of the
Cornwallis' intercession on young John's behalf . He appears to
have been granted a free pardon, on condition that he went abroad for
a specified number of years. He developed an attachment to British
justice as a result of the actions of Cornwallis and remained grateful to
his benefactor throughout the rest of his life. He went to France and
came to the attention of Napoleon. He may have been in the British
service at the time and been captured by the French. Napoleon offered
him a General's command in the army that he was preparing, in order
to invade England. Subject to satisfactory service, he was to be given
the whole domain of Evereux in Normandy, from which the family
had originally taken its name, and created Duke of the Empire.
Devereux declined the offer. Napoleon is reputed to have asked him
'were the Devereux's not descended from William the Conqueror?'
To which Devereux retorted, 'On the contrary, the Conqueror was
descended from them'.
He later served with distinction abroad, becoming a Lieutenant-
General in Simon Bolivar's army, fighting for the liberation of South
American states under Spanish rule. He returned to England and
Ireland in 1818, and again in 1823, to recruit volunteers for service
there. He also visited Wexford on these occasions. His motives were
questioned and he became embroiled in controversy, even though he
had Daniel O'Connell as a supporter. Morgan O'Connell, the
Liberator's son, was one of those who sailed to South America.
John Devereux travelled widely, possibly as a soldier of fortune,
on the Continent, in the United States, in South America and in
Britain, where he eventually retired. He played a large part in the
emancipation of Venezuela and rose to the rank of Lieutenant
General. He enjoyed a considerable pension from that state for many
years. Eventually he changed his name to D'Evereux.
Much of what has been written about John Devereux, including
his part in 1798, has been influenced by the fanciful stories that he
told concerning his exploits during the course of the rebellion. For
example, he claimed in a letter to the Venezuelan authorities that he
had been a general in the rising and had been called upon by 60,000 of
his fellow Catholics to lead them in defence of liberty and Catholic
Emancipation.
He died in 1860, aged 82, at 47, Hertford St., Mayfair, London.
WILLIAM DEVEREUX
William Devereux of Taghmon, whom Musgrave refers to as 'being in
opulent circumstances', was probably the father of John. He may be the
William Devereux who married Mary Dixon in 1771 . A large
distillery owned by William Devereux, together with a large area of
land, all in the town of Taghmon, which were advertised for sale in
September 1791, may have been his property. William Devereux and
his son both of Taghmon held important positions in the rebel forces.
William Devereux was also a commissary for Taghmon parish and as
such was likely to have been a member of the famous County Wexford
Senate. William Devereux, according to Miles Byrne, did not escape
the wrath of the loyalists following the rebellion, who had him lodged
in Wexford Gaol where he died before they had time to have him
executed. In a lecture on 'Taghmon in '98' given by the late Canon
Pat Murphy of Glynn in Taghmon Hall in 1936, the Canon stated that
the yeos were so much annoyed at not being able to arrest (John)
Devereux that they arrested his relatives, including his father, who
was an old man. He cheated the hangman by dying in prison.
JOHN CULLIMORE
The Senate House of the short-lived Wexford Senate of June 1798 was
convened at 'the most elaborate business premises of the town' .
These premises, seized by the Senate leaders, were owned by John
Cullimore who had a strong Taghmon connection. The Cullimores
were a Quaker family and John Cullimore appears to have been the
son of John Cullimore of Taghmon (d.1779) and Mary Lockinton .
The eldest son was Josiah Martin Cullimore of Taghmon who married
Mary Howlin and was admitted a Freeman of Wexford in 1776. John
Cullimore married Mary Whitney in 1778 . He was a merchant of
Main Street, Wexford in 1788 and proprietor of a malthouse in
Wexford in 1796. He claimed £888 for losses in the rebellion. These
Cullimores were likely to have been supporters of the loyalist side in
1798 but Joseph Cullimore, apparently a member of another Taghmon
Cullimore family, was on the side of the insurgents (see below).
THE REBEL CAMP AT TAGHMON
The exact site of Bagenal Harvey's camp at Taghmon is not recorded.
Kavanagh refers to it as 'near Taghmon'. On Thursday, 31st May a
Taghmon man, Brien (probably Capt.Bryan) who was a captain in the
rebel army, apprehended a member of the Taghmon Cavalry, William
Fleming, at Kilburn (sic) . There is no Kilburn in the Taghmon area
and the reference is likely to refer to Hillburn, which is probably the
true site of the camp. We know that there was a rebel field hospital at
Tracystown Maxwell talks of the aftermath of The Battle of Ross
and the wounded being taken to Foulksmills where they had several
doctors taking care of them... (and the rebels) converting six houses
into hospitals This was probably somewhere in the Foulksmills/Slevoy
area . Fleming testifies that he was forced to march with the
insurgents for many days. He was saved from summary execution by
the intervention of William Devereux, 'a Roman Catholic gentleman
of Taghmon aforesaid, who was a captain of said rebels. ' On one
occasion, some of the Taghmon insurgents allowed Fleming to escape
-'having knowledge of and regard for him'. Having hidden in furze
bushes for two days and two nights, he was advised by a friend to
return to Taghmon as the rebel camp had moved on to Carrigbyrne.
Later he fell into the hands of the insurgents and was forced to march
to the camp at Corbett Hill. Following the Battle of Ross he again
escaped but was, once more, apprehended at the Bridge of
Ballynaboola by the insurgents. There he saw John Byron, a
Protestant inhabitant of the parish of Taghmon, lying in a very
wounded condition in a ditch. Fleming was on the point of being
executed when he produced a letter of protection from Fr. Bryan
Murphy, the Parish Priest of Taghmon, which saved his life. Later, at
Slieve Coillte he was again saved by the intervention of John Devereux
of Taghmon.
GENERAL SIR JOHN MOORE AT TAGHMON
Following the Battle of Horetown on 20 June 1798, General Sir John
Moore camped for the night near to the site of the battle. At about
8.30 on the following morning he arrived with his troops at Taghmon,
where he remained until the afternoon when he set out for Wexford.
Later he went back to Taghmon and camped there, spending some
time looking for detachments of rebels who were, by now, in hiding.
He was a humane officer and condemned the atrocities of some of the
yeomen as 'worse than the rebels ever were '. Moore spent a
considerable time in Taghmon, and having been promoted to the rank
of major general by Lake while camped in the village, finally marched
north on 9 July to take overall command of the forces at Arklow and
Carnew. Before Moore's final departure from Taghmon the villagers
saw yet another battalion of soldiers, a contingent arriving from
Waterford to reinforce Moore's troops. The total force in the village
was now close to 2000 men, which must have put a considerable strain
on the resources of the villagers.
THE CAPTURE AND DEATH OF CAPT. ALLEN COX
As the rebel army began to gain a foothold across the southern and
eastern part of Wexford, Capt. Allen Cox became aware that he was in
grave danger of suffering death at the hands of the insurgents. He
decided to launch a small boat on the Corach river which flowed by his
home at Coolcliffe. His destination appears to have been the open sea
at Bannow and from there a passage to Wales and freedom in a
passing ship. However he was spotted by some of the insurgents from
the Bannow area and following a futile appeal to Fr. Edward Murphy,
the P.P. of Bannow, was captured at the Scar Ferry, at Barrystown.
From there he was brought into Wexford and imprisoned on a ship in
Wexford Harbour. On the morning of the 20th June the notorious
Tom Dixon instigated the executions of loyalists on the bridge. Capt.
Cox, having been in command of the Taghmon Cavalry when the town
was held by the loyalists, was well known to Dixon and the mob. He
was taken from the prison ship in a small boat, brought to the bridge
and piked by two of the mob. He succeeded in jumping off the bridge
into the water but was shot as soon as he surfaced . His body was
later recovered, presumably by his family, and buried in the Cox grave
in St. Munn's cemetery.
MORE EVIDENCE OF TAGHMON'S INSURGENT INVOLVEMENT
The potency of the United Irish cause in Taghmon is further
strengthened by the testimony of Richard Grandy of Ballyshan in
Musgrave. Grandy says that in the house of Mr King at Scullabogue
he saw Bagenal Harvey, William Devereux of Taghmon, Francis
Breen (significantly involved on the insurgent side as the co-signatory
- as Secretary and Adjutant - of the General Order, issued by himself
and Bagenal Harvey on 6 June from the camp at Carrigbyrne),
Nicholas Sweetman of Newbawn with a few more whom he did not
know...but that he believed that a son of William Devereux was
present. This son was probably John Devereux. Later Grandy testifies
that he saw...'William Devereux retreating from the Battle of Ross and
that he was sent to Taghmon where the sitting Rebel Magistrates at
Taghmon were John Breen, James Harpur, Joseph Cullimore and
Matthew Commons'.
A document that is part of the Rebellion Papers from 1798 is
headed as follows:
Rebel Captains found entered in Company Dunmans book as having
been supplied with Provisions out of his stores (Ross Army and
Corbett Hill)
There follows a long list of important participants in the 1798
Rebellion, including such notables as:
Gen. Kyan (General Esmond Kyan)
Gen. Roach (General Edward Roche of Garrylough)
Col. Byrne (Colonel Billy Byrne of Ballymanus)
Col. Fitzgerald (Colonel Edward Fitzgerald of Newpark)
Also listed are a number of men from the Taughmon (sic) district:
Capt. Breen of Taughmon (probably Capt. John Breen, as referred to
in Musgrave p.430)
Capt. Butler of Taghmon
Capt. Bryan of Taughmon
Capt. O'Neill of Taughmon
Capt. Richard Howlin of Taughmon.
CAPTAIN RICHARD HOWLIN
We know from this document that Captain Richard Howlin of the
1798 insurgent army was from the Taghmon area. The name Howlin
is not common and intensive research of the Catholic Parish Registers
in Taghmon indicates that there were only two Howlin families
residing in the parish. One resided at Coolateggart and the other at
Rochestown, on the borders of the parish of Taghmon and Bannow.
The Rochestown family has a long tradition of using the Christian
name Richard and it is still in use by these Howlins down to the
present day. This Capt. Richard Howlin is also listed in The
Transportation Records, where his place of imprisonment is given as
Wexford Gaol. The document is dated 4/7/1799 and it is headed 'A
Kalender (sic) of Prisoners in Custody in the gaol of Wexford.
Christian Wilson, Esq., High Sheriff. July 4th 1799. The description
of Richard Howlin's crime is 'Being involved in the Rebellion
(1798)'. The document contains a long list of names, most of whom
are charged with rebellion.
The landlords of the Howlins of Rochestown were the nearby Hore
family of the Harperstown estate. The Hores were generally perceived
to be liberal and good to their tenants. The head of the family in
1798 was William Hore, who was a nephew of the Earl of Courtown.
One evening in 1798 he was travelling home from Wexford (or
possibly Dublin) to Harperstown, in the company of some grand
jurors. Near to the present site of the Cross of Waddingtown (another
writer says near Harveystown) the group came upon a Hore tenant
named Redmond, a local blacksmith, who lived in a cabin near the
cross-roads. The group had partaken of some drink. The blacksmith
was accused of making pikes for the rebels. One word led to another
concerning the political state of the county and the victorious march of
the Wexford pikemen. The group burned down the forge of the
blacksmith. On the following morning, full of remorse, William Hore
had the forge rebuilt. The incident, however, was not forgotten and
when the Wexford rebels began rounding up loyalists to be executed
on the Bridge of Wexford, William Hore was one of the first to meet
his end there, on 20th June 1798. Captain Cox and Mr. Hore....were
called or taken to the bridge by name. I observed Mr. Hore (who was
a tall man) holding his hat over his head, and asking if there was
anyone present who came from where he lived, when a blow of a pike
hit him on the head; he fell forward ...many indeed were the pikes put
through his body. Christian Wilson of Scar, who was the High
Sheriff of County Wexford in 1798, was said to have been in the
company of William Hore on that journey from Wexford. Both were
members of the local Orange Lodge and they are said to have been
celebrating together following a lodge meeting in Wexford. Wilson
lived at Scar Castle and was a member of a planter family that had
benefitted from the Cromwellian confiscations. He and other
members of his family are buried in Duncormick Cemetery. He was
an unpopular landlord and a notorious bigot and is the same man who
was the gaoler in Wexford when Insurgent Richard Howlin was
incarcerated. The burning of the blacksmith's cabin took place a short
distance from the Howlin home in Rochestown. It is very likely that
both William Hore and Christian Wilson knew Richard Howlin. It is
intriguing to find Insurgent Captain Richard Howlin a few months
later, as a prisoner in the Gaol of Wexford, under the same Christian
Wilson.
FR. MOGUE KEARNS
Fr. Mogue (Aidan) Kearns, one of the principal activists on the
insurgent side, is mistakenly said to have been born in Taghmon
parish and to have been a nephew of Moses Kearns who was an
official in his time in Wexford Union Workhouse. The same source
states that he was buried in Whitechurch with his relatives . This is
untrue and the reason for the confusion regarding Fr. Kearns is that
there were, at the time, two priests of the same name. The Taghmon
Fr. Kearns, who was born in Wilkinstown was, in 1798, an elderly
Franciscan. Shortly before 1798 he was ministering at Carberry, Co.
Kildare. He took no part in the 1798 Rebellion and was a distant
relative of Fr. Mogue Kearns, who was born in Kiltealy .
CONCLUSION
From all this information we can surmise that inhabitants of the
Taghmon area, both loyalists and insurgents, were very involved in
1798. There is also folk memory of family participation in the
rebellion. A strong family tradition in the Doyle family of Camross
relates that a member of the family participated in the Battle of
Horetown. Michael Doyle was wounded at the battle and made his
way homeward. He hid in a furze-covered hill field, beside the
house. He recovered from his wounds and later married a Harper from
Libgate, Kilmore. The present Doyle family is descended from this
man.
Maurice Crane (1755-1857) of Slevoy took part in the Battle of
Horetown in 1798. He was struck by a cannonball but survived and
lived on to the great age of 102. The cannonball was preserved for
many years in the old Crane home at Slevoy. Maurice Crane was a
member of the famed levitical family and was the father of Fr. James
Crane O.S.A. (1795-1873) and Fr. Martin Crane O.S.A. (1806-
1856). He became a schoolteacher and had more than 60 pupils on
the rolls in the 1820s, carrying on the school in his own home in
Slevoy.
The involvement of the Parish Priest of Taghmon, Fr. Bryan
Murphy and that of Fr. Byrne, a Carmelite Friar of Goffsbridge, has
been documented in The Journal of The Taghmon Historical Society
No. 1.
APPENDIX
Names from the Taghmon Area listed in Musgrave
In Musgrave's list of the Protestants massacred in the Diocese of Ferns
the following appear to be from the Taghmon area:
Susanna Turner swore, her husband, Samuel Turner, a school master
at Taghmon, was shot at Scullabogue.
William Simmons of Shannaul, burnt at Scullabogue, 5th of June - his
wife and three children reduced to want.
Samuel Simmons, burnt at Scullabogue, 5th of June.
Thomas Thornton, coachmaker, of Taghmon, murdered in the
beginning of the rebellion.
John Chamley of Horetown, burnt at Scullabogue.
William Jordan of Rosegarland, Foulksmills, shot at Scullabogue.
Francis Monk and his son, Edward of Rosegarland, massacred at
Scullabogue.
John Eakins and his son Thomas of Rosegarland, burnt at Scullabogue.
Left a widow and five children.
Captain Allen Cox of Coolcliffe, piked on Wexford Bridge 20th June
William Hoare piked on Wexford Bridge, 20th June.
William Eakins of Slevoy, burned or shot at Scullabogue.
Robert Cook, butler to Rev. Robert Hawkshaw, burned or shot at
Scullabogue.
Robert Cook, his wife murdered.
James White of Taghmon, killed in Ross.
Benjamin Green of Coolstuff, murdered in Wexford.
James Wade, mason of Coolstuff, burned at Scullabogue
Musgrave also lists the following Taghmon area residents as
'Protestant prisoners in the gaol of Wexford':
William Hore Taghmon (Later killed on bridge)
Michael Gaffney Ballingale
Thomas Martin Ballingale
THE CLAIMS FOR LOSSES OF PROPERTY FROM THE TAGHMON AREA
| Name | Occupation | Address | Amount |
| Jacob Boardman | --- | Garridin (Garadreen?) | £11.10. 7 |
| John Boardman
| ---
| Ditto
| £25. 1. 1 |
| Thomas Bowels
| Yeoman
| Camross
| £18.13. 11 |
| James Bowls
| Ditto
| Kemress (Camross?)
| £29. 8. 6 |
| Richard Brennan
| Yeoman
| Growtown
| £98. 6. 1 |
| Joseph Byron
| --
| Harristown
| £44.13. 9 |
| Edward Cawl
| ---
| Coolshiff (Coolstuff?)
| £5. 4. 1 |
| Samuel Cooper
| ---
| Tagmore (Taghmon?)
| £68. 4. 3 |
| William Cooper
| ---
| Tottenhamgreen
| £15.13. 7 |
| William Cox
| Lieutenant
| Coolcliffe
| £21. 6. 7 |
| Richard Crane
| ---
| Furlongstown
| £36.15. 0 |
| Edward Davis
| Farmer
| Ballinclay(Ballintlea?)
| £18. 8. 5 |
| Joseph Davis
| Pensioner
| Ballincloy(Ballintlea?)
| £4. 2. 0 |
| John Death
| Farmer
| Raheen
| £205. 5. 9 |
| Joseph Dice
| ---
| Rochestown
| £86. 5. 0 |
| Bridget Eakins
| Widow
| Slevoy
| £22. 5.10 |
| Alice Edmond
| ---
| Ozier-tier (Ozier Hill?)
| £10. 0. 0 |
| Samuel Ennis
| ---
| Taghmore(Taghmon?)
| £11.18.10 |
| Giffard Abigail
|
| Tagmon
| £41.16. 6 |
| Hawkshaw Revd. Robt.
| Rector
| Hillburn
| £249. 5.11 |
| Hore Elinor
| Widow
| Harperstown
| £20. 9. 7 |
| Ditto
|
|
| £20. 0. 9 |
| Samuel Horton
| Farmer
| Ballingale
| £468. 0. 8 |
| Samuel Jacob
| Weaver
| Ballinclay
| £17. 6. 1 |
| Alice Kennedy
| Widow
| Ballinclay
| £15. 7. 3 |
| Alice Lyons
| Innholder
| Taghmon
| £96. 6.10 |
| Abel Martin
| Shoe-maker
| Ballinclea
| £19. 6. 1 |
| John Monk
| Weaver
| Coolstuff
| £14. 6. 3 |
| Nathaniel Patton
| Taghmore Inf.
| Ozier Hill
| £51. 1. 0 |
| Robert Patten
| Yeoman
| Ditto
| £22. 8. 3 |
| William Pigott
| Wexford Mlt.
| Sleevoy
| £268.11. 3 |
| Benjamin Rigley
| Miller
| Ballybegg
| £10.10. 2 |
| Francis Rigley
| Miller
| Ballybegg
| £10. 4. 9 |
| Mary Scott
| Widow
| Ballingale
| £6.17. 0 |
| William Shaw
| Yeoman
| Tottenham Green
| £5.15.11 |
| Richard Simmons
| ---
| Ballintartin
| £40. 0. 6 |
| John Smith
| Farmer
| Knockmarshal
| £71. 1.10 |
| John Sparrow Jnr.
| Farmer
| Great Cools
| £105.13. 1 |
| William Turner
| ---
| Ballingale
| £713.17. 5 |
| Ditto
|
|
| £1047. 0. 0 |
| Richard Warren
| Yeoman
| Raheen
| £116.18. 5 |
| Margaret Whitney
| Widow
| Kilgarvan
| £28. 0. 0 |
REFERENCES AND NOTES
- Wexford - A Municipal History, by Padge Reck.
- The Wexford Journal, Vol. V11 No. 111, Feb. 1776
- Sowing the Whirlwind by Brian Cleary in Journal of The Wexford
Historical Society, No. 14, 1992/93
- Ibid.
- Glynn 1789-1989 Edited by Fr. Lory Kehoe P.P.
- Persons who Suffered Loss of Property in 1798.
- Memoirs of the Different Rebellions in Ireland, by Sir Richard Musgrave.
p.303
- Notes on the Volunteers Militia, Yeomanry and Orangemen of County
Wexford, by Padraig O Snodaigh in The Past No. 14 1983.
- Ferns Marriage Licenses
- The Freeman of Wexford in 1776, by David Goodall in The Irish
Genealogist. See also Ferns Clergy and Parishes by Canon Leslie p.84
- Ferns Marriage Licenses
- Two Wexford Priests and '98, by Kevin MacGrath in The Irish
Ecclesiastical Record of December 1948.
- The Wexford Rising in 1798, by Charles Dickson pp.233
- Memoirs of Miles Byrne
- The People, 2 May 1936.
- A letter from author, historian and former Trustee of The National Library,
Mr. E.D.T.Lambert quoted in The People 4 July 1980. Lambert was working
on a five volume work on the 5000 volunteers from Britain and Ireland who
took part in the South American Wars of Independence under Simon Bolivar
between 1806 and 1826. Unfortunately the work was never published.
- Devereux of Ballymagir and Adamstown, by W.H.Jeffery in The Journal of
The Old Wexford Society No. 3 1970/71
- The People, 2 May 1936.
- Families of Co. Wexford, by Hilary Murphy
- Ferns Marriage Licenses
- The Leinster Journal, 14 September 1791.
- Memoirs of the Different Rebellions in Ireland..., by Sir Richard Musgrave
p.781
- Co. Wexford Memories, - a series in The People, May to December 1938
- The Wexford Republic June 1798, by Kevin Whelan in Comoradh '98
1798-1998 -A Souvenir Record.
- The Freeman of Wexford in 1776, by David Goodall in The Irish
Genealogist.
- Ferns Marriage Licenses
- Memoirs of the Different Rebellions in Ireland..., by Sir Richard Musgrave.
- Forth and Bargy, by Kevin Whelan - A footnote on P.32 in Journal of the
Wexford Historical Society No. 11
- The Irish Rebellion 1798, by W.H.Maxwell.
- Memoirs of the Different Rebellions in Ireland..., by Sir Richard Musgrave.
- The diary of Sir John Moore, ed. Sir J.F.Maurice, London 1904.
- Memoirs of the Different Rebellions in Ireland..., by Sir Richard Musgrave.
p.456
- Grandy appears to have been a professional loyalist witness, who was
invariably paid for his testimony. See The Wexford Rising in 1798 by Charles
Dickson pp.212
- The Transportation Records, in The National Archives of Ireland
(Document Reference No. PPC 3907)
- A story told by Arthur Meadows (who narrowly escaped death on the
bridge) in Ireland: its Scenery, Character, by Mr. & Mrs. S.C. Hall Vol. 11
p.172
- Co. Wexford Memories - a series in The People, 19 September 1936.
- The New Ross Standard, 24 December 1898
- Michael Doyle of Camross
- The New Ross Standard, 15 July 1949