Bloody secrets of Vinegar Hill revealed

Archaeologists have found mass graves which they believe contain the remains of women and children who were massacred on a battlefield during the last stand of the 1798 Rebellion.

They have also located a prison on the site, as well as flintlock pistols and muskets, swords, and musketballs which have given them greater insight into how the bloody Battle of Vinegar Hill in Co Wexford unfolded.

Archaeologist Ronan O’Flaherty, chairman of the Vinegar Hill Research project, said the four-year investigation was the most intensive examination of any battlefield site ever undertaken in Ireland, looking at its history, geography and folklore.