Call for protection as battle site stripped by metal detectorists
The man who helped to undertake the most mcomprehensive survey of any battlefield site in Ireland says it highlighted the impact of illegal metal detection and the need to protect sites like this all across the country.
“As the most important battlefield in terms of finds ever to be investigated in this country, with the potential to continue to reveal more over the years to come, Vinegar Hill is more than ever in need of protection, from both illegal metal detection and inappropriate development,” said Dr O’Flaherty.
The team of archaeologists was able to piece together the events of the battle, which took place on June 21, 1798, through ground-penetrating radar and metal detection, carried out under licence.
Dr O’Flaherty said the Crown Forces, which included six generals and nearly 15,000 men, started the battle at around 4am with what he described as an extensive artillery barrage which would have been the “shock and awe” tactics of the time.
“It was the first time that exploding shells were ever used in Ireland,” he said. “Some of the rebels picked them up after being fired into the ranks and they exploded in their faces.”
The Wexford Rebels
(Wexford United Irishmen) were sure they would be ably supported by a rebellion in other parts of the country, but that didn’t materialise, as any action elsewhere was quickly crushed.
They found themselves on their own, with the British closing in. The majority of the rebels lacked firearms and had to rely on pikes as their main weapon.
Dr O’Flaherty said the British were determined to brutally stamp out the last vestiges of resistance, having lost the American colonies in 1776 and more recently seen the fallout from the French Revolution.
This might explain why they massacred so many defenceless women and children. A large number of elderly, women, and children were on Vinegar Hill seeking protection from the rampaging British, and the rebel army stood their ground to protect them.
After the artillery bombardment was halted, the British infantry launched a general advance on the rebel positions, which resulted in two hours of fighting.
The rebels then found a way off the hill because a force led by General Needham hadn’t yet arrived to plug the final gap in the encirclement.
Archaeologists believe a line of musket balls discovered on the site indicates that the British then opened fire on the women and children left behind.
They also discovered a prison in a farmyard, which was used by rebels to house captured loyalists.
Dr O’Flaherty described the level of atrocities committed by both sides as “shocking”. He said nearly one sixth of Wexford’s population was killed in a six-week period, which is on a level of genocide.
“The rebels also piked to death many loyalists,” he said. “It’s documented that the British organised gang rapes and burnt prisoners alive in a hospital. The rebels burnt women and children in a barn.”
He said he and his core team — Jacqui Hynes, a folklorist and historian, and Rory O’Connor who runs the 1798 Centre in Enniscorthy — were very grateful to Wexford County Council for supporting the four-year research project.
“We want to recognise the vision of Wexford County Council in supporting this scale and range of the research,” Dr O’Flaherty said.
His team also collaborated with experts from Rubicon Heritage, IT Sligo, Cotswold Archaeology, and Earthsound Geophysics.
The project steering group consisted of representatives from the county council, Discovery Programme, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, The Heritage Council, and international experts such as Damian Shiels of Rubicon Heritage and Tony Pollard of the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at the University of Glasgow.
Some limited excavation was also carried out by archaeologist Stafford McLoughlin, which turned up some interesting finds of musket balls and an iron military boot-heel.
“The most recent finds recovered by the project to date mean that Vinegar Hill is now the most important battlefield ever investigated archaeologically in Ireland,” said Dr O’Flaherty.
“This includes evidence of the camp, of smelting, and engagement between rebels and crown forces, some of it at close quarters.
“The ditches and lanes that criss-cross Vinegar Hill today, including the lane leading to them car park, were those used by the rebel force in their occupation of the hill and to harry and resist the crown forces during their assault.”
The project had a number of aims, including setting new standards for future battlefield archaeological research in Ireland.
Dr O’Flaherty said the next stage of the project is to write up all the research which, it is hoped, will then be published in a book.
