Battle of Carlow

Around 1,100 United Irishmen entered Carlow on May 24, 1798, believing they would seize a strategic town and strike a visible blow against British rule. Instead, betrayal warned the garrison in time, ambushes caught the rebels in narrow streets, and burning buildings trapped hundreds until roughly 500 were killed. The disaster exposed how much the rebellion depended on coordination it never had, yet the cruelty of that day helped harden Irish defiance into a lasting claim for self-government.