plaque · Ireland

Battle Of The Three Rocks

Photograph at the Battle Of The Three Rocks plaque
Photograph via Wikipedia (Battle of Three Rocks, CC BY-SA).

This memorial commemorates the Battle of Three Rocks, a significant engagement during the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland. It specifically honours the United Irishmen who fought on 30 May 1798. The plaque stands as a remembrance of a moment when the United Irish forces achieved a victory against a British artillery column. This event was a part of the broader Wexford Rebellion, which sought to challenge British rule. The inscription indicates that the memorial was erected in 1998 by "The Three Rocks Groups", marking a bicentennial remembrance of the battle.

The memorial is situated within the historical context of the 1798 Irish Rebellion, a significant period of unrest and conflict. This rebellion saw various engagements across Ireland, with the Battle of Three Rocks forming part of the Wexford Rebellion in the south-east. While the rebellion at large faced a major turning point with the defeat at the Battle of Vinegar Hill, the action at Three Rocks represented an earlier, more successful encounter for the United Irishmen. These conflicts were driven by a desire for greater autonomy and an end to British governmental control, reflecting a wider tradition of nationalistic sentiment in Ireland.

The plaque is dedicated to the Battle of Three Rocks and is located in Ireland. Visitors wishing to pay their respects should be aware that the memorial marks a historical event during the 1798 Rebellion. The plaque itself presents the core information about the battle, including the date and the participants. As a place of remembrance, visitors are encouraged to approach the site with a respectful and quiet demeanour, acknowledging the historical significance of the events it commemorates.

Inscription

Battle Of The Three Rocks 30 May, 1798 United Irishmen I gCuimhne na marbh "The Three Rocks Groups" 1998
Transcribed from the plaque at Location details from OpenStreetMap.

Background

The Battle of Vinegar Hill took place on 21 June 1798, a significant engagement during the Irish Rebellion of that year. It occurred in County Wexford, near Enniscorthy. Crown forces, numbering around 13,000 under the command of General Gerard Lake, confronted a United Irish encampment. This United Irish force, though larger, was less well-equipped.

The outcome at Vinegar Hill marked a turning point, effectively ending sustained rebel activity in the south-east and breaking the momentum of the Wexford rising. Today, the hill stands as a prominent site for remembering the events of the rebellion, drawing many visitors to the area.

Original summary by TributeLegacy, informed by public sources.

Source: OpenStreetMap. Geographic data via OpenStreetMap.

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Data sources

Location records are drawn from open, licence-clean datasets, kept here with attribution and gratitude to the people who maintain them.

  • Open Plaques, dedicated to the public domain (CC0). See openplaques.org.
  • Wikidata, available under the CC0 1.0 Universal dedication.
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence.
  • Historic England, National Heritage List for England, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. War memorial records are drawn from open community datasets (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, NHLE) - never from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which is excluded.

Editorial descriptions, photography and tribute links are original TributeLegacy work, layered on top of the open data.

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