8 minute read
History & Heritage
Dr Ronan O’Flaherty is an archaeologist and independent researcher, and Chair of The Longest Day Research Project. Jacqui Hynes is a folklorist and teacher, a former manager of the National 1798 Rebellion Centre and a member of The Longest Day Research Project.
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VINEGAR HILL The Last Stand of the Wexford Rebels of 1798
At the book launch L-R: Liz Hore (Head of Enterprise, Wexford County Council), Tony Larkiin (Deputy CEO Wexford County Council), Jacqui Hynes (co-editor), Cllr Cathal Byrne (Cathaoirleach Enniscorthy Municipal District), Ronan O’Flaherty (co-editor), Cllr Aidan Browne, Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy (Cathaoirleach Wexford County Council) and Cllr Jackser Owens. Pic: Patrick Browne.
21 June 1798 saw 20,000 men, women and children trapped on a hill outside Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, facing a Crown force of some 15,000 troops. It was the dying days of a rebellion that had shaken British rule in Ireland to its core. The army that now surrounded the hill was determined that none should escape.
Vinegar Hill – The Last Stand of the Wexford Rebels of 1798 is a 352-page book, edited by Dr Ronan O’Flaherty and Jacqui Hynes, and is the culmination of “The Longest Day Research Project”, supported by Wexford County Council and a steering committee of national and international experts. The book includes research by a multidisciplinary team of archaeologists, historians, folklorists, architectural historians, and military specialists, and provides fascinating new insights into what happened at Vinegar Hill on that fateful day in June 1798. Using cutting-edge technology and traditional research, the sequence of the battle jumps sharply into focus. Beginning with Vinegar Hill in the international context, the book considers the command and structure of the armies and course of the battle that day, reveals archaeological artefacts and surviving historic buildings from the battle and period, oral histories of that fateful day and the last march of the Wexford rebels into County Meath. It also evaluates the stories of why General Needham was late to the battle and identifies possible mass graves on Vinegar Hill.
Although there can be no public launch at this time, the research team are delighted to see the work undertaken by so many brought to fruition through this publication and are very grateful to Wexford County Council for their support.
The full-colour, 352-page book is for sale (price €25) at the National 1798 Rebellion Centre, Millpark Road, Enniscorthy and through local bookshops and online from https://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/ne w-year-folder/vinegar-hill/ and other book retailers. n
Medieval Ferns Experience – Wex
The Medieval Ferns Experience is located in Ferns Community Centre. Above: Catherine McPartlin (Medieval Ferns Experience), Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy (Chairperson Wexford Co. Council) and Helen Davitt (Medieval Ferns Experience).
The Medieval Ferns Experience in Ferns is Wexford's newest visitor attraction. Although new, it tells an old story – of Ferns and its significance in the medieval period in an informative and entertaining way. In Wexford we rightly feature the Viking and Norman story, their arrival and what they left behind. However, in Ferns we can now enjoy the story before their arrival – a time when St. Aidan's monastery dominated the landscape in Ferns – in the 6th/7th century through to Gaelic kings, their rivalries and alliances in the 12th. The Medieval Ferns Experience focuses on one in particular, Diarmait MacMurrough, King of Leinster, an ambitious king who ruled from Ferns and had his
xford’s newest visitor attraction
sights on the High Kingship. His reputation as a tyrant is widespread but the new Ferns attraction sets the context through a mix of media including audio visual, virtual reality and sensory. The Medieval Ferns Experience is open just a couple of months but already the positive reaction has been most welcome. The visitors so far reflect the modern Ferns – people who have lived in Ferns all their lives, and people who have chosen to make Ferns their home. Great feedback has been received from foreign nationals living in Ferns who were delighted to know about Ferns’ history – one resident from Poland said it was a “fantastic experience, very interactive – we highly recommend it”, another of Russian origin said, “Really happy to see this wonderful idea being realised in Ferns village. It’s an amazing experience for children, very educational and entertaining.” Catherine MacPartlin, Manager at Medieval Ferns Experience, tells us that, ”For years, we’ve heard from locals, that we should have something in Ferns and this is the realisation of an ambition – it’s the start. The main reaction by our visitors so far, and that includes people from Ferns now working abroad and home on holiday, is that they were not aware of all the interesting ‘stuff’ presented in the Medieval Ferns Experience – more than once it was compared to Game of Thrones.” The Experience is located in Ferns Community Centre and is run as a social enterprise, staffed by a mix of community employment scheme people and volunteers. It is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm. As it’s a social enterprise, it depends on an entry fee to meet running costs – adults €6 and children under 12 free. Because of the need for social distancing, visitors are asked to pre-book by emailing: medievalfernsexperience@fernsvillage.ie
Hourly slots are bookable from 10am and on the hour from then – with the last slot at 4pm. People can also follow Ferns Village on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and on the website: www.fernsvillage.ie for updates. n
Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy (Chairperson Wexford Co. Council) and Catherine McPartlin (Medieval Ferns Experience), enoying the audio-visuals at the new exhibition.
Catherine McPartlin (Medieval Ferns Experience) with Minister Joe O’Brien, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, on his recent visit to the exhibition.
Cllr Pat Barden in a spot of bother at the Norman Festival.
Enniscorthy Historical Re-enactment Society were delighted to be invited to be part of the first ever Norman Festival at Baginbun recently. The Festival scheduled for last year, to commemorate the 850th anniversary of the landing of the Normans at Baginbun, had to be postponed due to Covid, but organisers, Hook Tourism, were determined that it would happen this year, albeit under restrictions. To mark the special occasion of the
L-R: The Deputy French Ambassador Marianne Barkan-Cow
Storming Norma
landing of the second wave of Normans at Baginbun in 1170, the first invasion occurring at Bannow in 1169, the Deputy French Ambassador Marianne Barkan-Cowdy, explored the shared connections between Ireland and France through the centuries before unveiling the plaque at the monument which commemorates the historic landing. Ms. Barkan-Cowdy was elaborate in her appraisal of French/Irish connections going forward in post Brexit times, pointing out that the name Baginbun is derived from the two ships that brought the Normans to our shores – Le Bague and Le Bon – the ring and the good – the ring, a symbol of the marriage of our two countries, France now being our nearest European neighbour, and the good, depicting the excellent food products being produced and shared in both.
The crowd of about two hundred, were treated to historical insights by archaeologist Niall Colfer, son of the well-known
Words and pic
wdy with Maria Nolan at the Norman Festival at Baginbun.
ans at Baginbun
historian Billy Colfer, and historian and author, Prof. Kevin Whelan, explaining that this was an invasion by invitation, they came, they fought, they stayed, and they shaped the future of Wexford and Ireland and their names, Colfer, Sutton, Rossiter, Browne, Roche, Devereux and many more are still with us today as are their wonderful, enduring fortifications dotted all across our Wexford landscape. New Ross Municipal District Chairman Pat Barden reminded us of the significance of the Wexford site symbolising the power of the Normans, with the well-known phrase, ‘At the creek of Baginbun Ireland was lost and won.’ A special song composed for the occasion was performed called Alice’s Antics, recalling a Norman woman named Alice reeking revenge on the Irish who had killed her partner, by slashing the heads off over seventy prisoners whose bodies were then thrown off the cliff at Baginbun.
Cllr Michael Whelan is also in a spot of bother at the Norman Festival.
A lovely woman by all accounts! The Festival continued with displays by the superbly accurate Dunbrody Archers and re-enactments by the suitably attired and ably equipped Enniscorthy Historical Re-enactment Society. Well done to Hook Tourism. It is about time that Wexford Tourism began to show ownership of the Normans like Waterford’s claim to the Vikings.
– Maria Nolan
cs by Maria Nolan
