1798 Memorial

A hundred years after the 1798 rebellion, George Smyth of Dublin carved Fr. Michael Murphy into white limestone, placing the priest in the act of leading men into danger. The statue still stands on a grey pedestal above Arklow’s Main Street, watching the parade ground where Murphy fell within thirty yards of enemy lines. Below his figure, panels honour Wolfe Tone, Anthony Perry and Esmond Kyan, though a construction mistake left two profiles swapped. Rather than risk destroying them, the builders kept the error intact, turning a human failing into a permanent part of the memorial.