A History of Ireland in Song

"Ninety-Eight"

"Ninety-eight" is the short and more usual way of referring to the 1798 Rising in Ireland. Organised and led by the United Irishmen, it was noted for several pitched battles in which Irish peasants fought with pike against musket and cannon — and sometimes won!

There were skirmishes in the counties around Dublin, which itself remained under the control of the British authorities throughout; a major rising in Wexford and Waterford led by the priest Fr. Murphy, and risings also in Antrim, led by Henry Joy McCraken, and Down, led by Henry Munro. That in Wexford and Waterford fared best, taking control of both counties. The rebels then attempted to move north and west, but were first halted at New Ross and Arklow, then decisively defeated at Vinnegar Hill. The Ulster risings failed to link up, and were defeated in detail.

Several French attempts to lend assistance came to naught, the most memorable being Humbert's landing in Mayo. After proclaiming a republic there, he marched east in an attempt to link up with the survivors of Vinnegar Hill, but was defeated in battle at Ballinamuck in county Longford. Those Irish members of his army who survived the battle were massacred by the British forces. Wolfe Tone was captured in another French expedition after the rising itself.

1798 is notable for the fact that, while the peasant armies were largely Catholic, the leaders of the rebellion included many Protestants, both Anglican and Presbyterian. And indeed, in Ulster, the rank and file were Presbyterian, and most of the militia fighting for the British Catholic! Unhappily, '98 proved to have sounded the death knell for what historians sometimes call "the Protestant nation". From the Act of Union in 1801 on, Protestantism in Ireland became increasingly identified with reaction and allegiance to the English crown, although there continued to be individual Protestant patriots — Parnell and Roger Casement being only two of the most famous — and of course many Catholics were loyalists too.

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