Battlefield in Glebe North,oldkilcullen

The 1798 United Irishmen rebellion broke out in the east midlands of Ireland on the night of 23-24 May. Here the counties of Dublin, Meath and Kildare were to see the most significant military action. Events in Dublin on the night of 23 May were significant for what did not happen, as the rebellion was crushed by Crown forces here almost as spoon as it began. Meath and Kildare were to see greater, and longer-lasting, military action, however, as the rebellion took hold much more firmly in those two counties. The battle of Kilcullen, fought on 24 May, has the distinction of being one of the first of the major military clashes in the east midlands. In Kildare, during the night of 23-24 May, United Irish insurgents carried out attacks in the towns of Ballymore-Eustace, Naas, and Prosperous, but these all failed. Subsequent to this, that same night, insurgents began to mobilise at the old churchyard in old Kilcullen, which was on the southern outskirts of that town. By daybreak on 24 May (c. 5 am) c. 300 insurgents had gathered there. This seditious congregation was soon brought to the attention of the commander of the local Crown forces, Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Dundas, however. He almost immediately gathered some forces together and set out to defeat the insurgent forces. The scene was thus set for the subsequent battle. After the outbreak of rebellion in Kildare county on the night of 23 May, 300 insurgents gathered at the churchyard at Old Kilcullen on 24 May, where they set up camp. This churchyard was on a hill on the southern outskirts of the town, about 100 feet above the fair green. The local government commander in the area was Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Dundas. His headquarters were at Castlemartin, some 2 miles away, and when he learned of the assembly of United Irishmen partisans at Kilcullen, he gathered a force to oppose them. Altogether, this General had 200 soldiers at his disposal. The Crown forces consisted of approximately 120 infantry and approximately 80 Cavalry. The Cavalry was made up of a party of Romney Fencibles and 9th Dragoons. Captain Erskine led the latter, while the Romneys were led by Captain Cooke. The Suffolk Fencibles infantry was under Captain Beale’s command. Once gathered, Dundas moved his force to the churchyard, but the Cavalry outran the infantry and arrived there first. Essentially, the battle of Kilcullen took place at two locations; the initial engagement took place at Old Kilcullen churchyard, while the second engagement occurred in the area of Kilcullen/Kilcullen Bridge and Turnpike Hill. Given the similarities between contemporary accounts of these landscapes during the battle and their depiction in the First Edition Ordnance Survey map (1837-8), it may be concluded that the general environment had not changed much in the intervening forty years; thus the landscape as shown in the first survey map may be taken as being representative of that during the time of the battle. The Old Kilcullen churchyard is a recorded archaeological site (KD028-049---) which is designated as a national monument (Ref. No. 71) and protected structure (Ref. No. B28-01). The site comprises of the ruins of a church, a round tower, a cross and a graveyard and is delineated on all sides by a stone wall, presumably that which was present during the time of the battle. The wall stands to a height of approximately 1.2m. The site is situated in a rural environment and is elevated above the surrounding landscape; the hill fort of Dun Ailline is visible to the northeast. As a result of the churchyard’s elevation, the insurgents would have been able to clearly observe the advance of Crown forces. It is unclear if the Government forces advanced from Castlemartin demesne or from Kilcullen village to the churchyard, thus two possible routes of advance are possible. However, both of these roadways lead to the fair green which is mentioned in contemporary accounts. Consequently, it can be asserted that the latter section of the route taken by the Crown forces constituted that which ran to the east of the fair green in a north-south orientation. As it is known that the Government forces retreated to Kilcullen, it can be taken that they travelled via the old main road to the village. The fields immediately surrounding the churchyard, as well as those constituting the fair green and its environs, comprise open grassland and the field boundary pattern within the region remains almost identical to that depicted on the first survey map. Consequently, the presence of associated archaeological material within the area is most likely. North of Old Kilcullen is the present-day town of Kilcullen/Kilcullen Bridge (both essentially constitute one settlement area) where the Crown forces reassembled after their defeat at Old Kilcullen. Although a new road has recently been constructed to the town’s west, the road network remains almost identical to that as depicted in the first survey and the road that was used to travel between Old Kilcullen and Kilcullen (once regarded as the main road) during the battle, is still in use. Settlement is nucleated along the roadside of Kilcullen/Kilcullen Bridge but is primarily dispersed beyond the extent of the town. Castlemartin House which is located to the west of Kilcullen and was occupied by General Sir Ralph Dundas at the time of the battle, is still present; the boundaries of the estate have since changed however. A substantial portion of Turnpike Hill, located approximately 1km just north of the town, is currently in the private ownership of Castlemartin Stud and principally comprises undeveloped grassland. Commanding views are provided from the summit of the hill, which stands to a height of approximately 150m above sea level, though hedgerows and the presence of structures in the town may have obscured the insurgents’ view of Crown manoeuvres here. Clearly the hill’s prominent location was also valued in the past as a tumulus (KD028-024-----) is situated at its summit. The roadway east of this hill (i.e. the Dublin road) constitutes the same roadway the insurgents would have been positioned on while waiting to attack Government troops. This road is lined on either side by a large number of industrial and residential sites, though there are undeveloped green areas also. As the region has been developed in modern times, the field boundaries that are still present display a predominantly different layout to those depicted on the first survey; some of the field boundaries depicted on the first survey map, within the battlefield zone as depicted in this report, are still present however.