7 minute read
History & Heritage
Enniscorthy recalls its historic past
Those of us who have the privilege of living here in Enniscorthy know that we live in one of the most historic towns in Ireland and therefore it is only right and fitting that we should take time to honour our town, our history, and those who went before us, making us who we are. The Battle of Vinegar Hill, one of the most significant battles of the 1798 Rebellion, took place on the hill above our town on the longest day, 21st June, and each year Enniscorthy Municipal District Council together with Enniscorthy Historical Re-enactment Society, commemorate the event on site with a dignified and solemn ceremony remembering all those who died on that horrific day.
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Please join us this year, on Tuesday 21st June at 7pm, as we gather on Vinegar Hill to remember our historic past.
Johnny Mythen TD (far left) and Enniscorthy Historical Re-enactment Society maintaining social distance at Vinegar Hill commemoration, June 2020.
Perhaps, we are less familiar with an event that occurred in the town 124 years later, The Battle of Enniscorthy, which raged for four days on the streets of our town during the darkest period of our history, The Civil War.
This year Wexford Literary Festival, in conjunction with Enniscorthy Municipal District Council, will host a commemoration ceremony on Saturday 2nd July 2022, exactly 100 years after the Battle of Enniscorthy 1st – 4th July 1922.
The event will begin at 11am at Enniscorthy Castle where the Free State Garrison are pinned down under fire from Anti Treaty snipers at St. Mary’s Church.
The Re-enactment will be narrated by Barry Lacey, Historian in Residence with Wexford Libraries, and will include re-enactors from Lord Edwards Own, Kildare, Kilkenny Re-enactment Society and Enniscorthy Historical Re-enactment Society.
Special guests for the event will include Minister of State James Browne TD, Sean Haughey, grandson of Sean Lemass, who fought in the Battle of Enniscorthy, Chair of Enniscorthy Municipal District Cathal Byrne, Historian in Residence at Wexford County
At the start of the Civil War, Enniscorthy was the only large town in Co. Wexford that contained a garrison of both Free State soldiers and anti-Treaty IRA volunteers (the remaining three towns were held by the anti-Treaty IRA alone). This led to much tension in the spring and early summer of 1922, as the erstwhile allies eyed each other suspiciously.
The Free State soldiers were based in the old R.I.C. barracks in Abbey Square, while the anti-Treaty IRA were billeted in the town’s courthouse. From these two locations they attempted to govern Enniscorthy, sending out rival patrols to police the town. However, this uneasy truce was shattered on July the 2nd, 1922, when both sides attacked each other, in what would become an intense urban battle that would last for the best part of four days.
Enniscorthy at the beginning of the 20th century. Smyth, author of Monteith, The Making of a Rebel.
This is a lesser known part of our Enniscorthy history, and I would appeal to Enniscorthians or Scalders everywhere to come out and commemorate and honour the part our town played in the formation of the Nation.
The Battle of Enniscorthy, live on the streets where it all happened one hundred years ago to the day, don’t miss it, this is living history at its best.
– Words & Pics by Maria Nolan
Barry Lacey, Historian in Residence with Wexford Libraries.
Workshops for schools
Workshops for schools on the War of Independence and the Civil War in Wexford. On Friday, 1st April 2022, Co. Wexford’s library service launched its information booklet entitled “County Wexford War of Independence and Civil War: An educational resource” which charts the events and timeline of the War of Independence and the Civil War in County Wexford. It is a resource for young people from 4th class to 3rd year. The booklet was researched and written by local historian, Monica Crofton, and edited by Executive Librarian, Hazel Percival and Library Assistant, Michael Dempsey and designed by Nicola Bailey. If your school would like to have a visit from Co. Wexford’s Historian-in-Residence to discuss the booklet with your students, contact the Local Studies Librarian: caroline.barry@wexfordcoco.ie or 053 919 6330. n
A new and very different Medieval Ferns Experience
Want to try something new and very different? Well, Wexford's newest visitor attraction is now open in Ferns – located at Ferns Community Centre in a specially refurbished area.
The Experience tells the fascinating story of Ferns medieval history in an interactive and fun way. Using audiovisual sensory and virtual reality it really gives a great insight into power shifts in the Ancient Capital of Leinster. The Experience is open Wednesday to Saturday from 11am to 5pm. For enquiries email: medievalfernsexperience@fernsvillage.ie or phone: 089-4946972. Entry fee is €6. Seniors/Students €5. Children under 12 are free. n
Wexford is currently hosting a major exhibition, The Treaty 1921 – Records from the Archives, following its three-month stint at Dublin Castle. The exhibition marks the centenary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921. The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives exhibition will run at County Hall, Wexford town, until 10th June. It is presented by the National Archives in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy, the National Library of Ireland and the Office of Public Works, with records from the collections of the Military Archives and University College Dublin. The Anglo-Irish Treaty is one of the most significant historical documents held by the National Archives. Using the Treaty as a centrepiece, the National Archives present an exhibition that marks its role as the official repository of the records of the State, one hundred years since its formation. The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives opens up significant historical records, official documents and private papers for the first time, including the first public presentation of both the Irish and British copes of the Treaty document. Using contemporary reportage, images and footage, The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives locates the Treaty negotiations in the political context of the Irish revolution and a world turned upside down by the First World War. Beginning with the exploratory talks between Éamon de Valera, President of Dáil Éireann, and British Prime Minister David Lloyd George during the summer of 1921, it details the work of the Irish plenipotentiaries and their secretariat, by presenting the documentary record that they left behind. The exhibition also chronicles day-to-day life in London for the men and women who made up the Irish delegation, from parties attended, dinners hosted and appearances at theatre and gala performances, to the tense final days and hours leading to the signing of the Treaty just after 2am on 6 December 1921. Finally, it documents the delegation’s return to Dublin, and the Dáil Éireann cabinet meeting that pointed to the split in the independence movement that emerged over the terms of the Treaty, and the divisions that would lead to Civil War. Tom Enright, Chief Executive, Wexford County Council, said: “Wexford County Council is delighted to be hosting ‘The Treaty 1921’ exhibition as part of its commemorative programme under the Decade of Centenaries for 2022. We hope that visitors will readily engage with the exhibition and increase their understanding of this seminal period in our country’s history. We are also excited to be showcasing to the public some of the relevant documents and images from our own county archive’s collections alongside the main exhibition.” Orlaith McBride, Director of the National Archives, said: “We are delighted to bring this exhibition to Wexford. The wide and vivid range of documents, images and text presented capture as never before the drama that was the Treaty negotiations in London in 1921 and does so in a way that evokes the personal stories and personalities with all the attendant tensions, hopes and disagreements. It represents a really significant contribution to our understanding of one of the most important few weeks in our country's history.” Admission to the exhibition, which runs to 10th June, is free.
