Ballickmoyler 1798
On May 24, 1798, Ballickmoyler was the rallying point for Irish
rebels from the area who, armed mostly with hand made pikes and a few
firearms, then marched on to join their other counterparts at Carlow.
Their plan was to seize Carlow from the professional British Army troops
and Irish Militia stationed there. The government may have been
expecting them though because when they approached the bridge at Graigue
which crosses the Barrow River into Carlow, they found it defended by
two cannons manned by British troops and the militia. They then returned
to Ballickmoyler and finding that the majority of its Protestant
inhabitants, possibly all, had fled the village, they took out their
frustrations by burning their houses. The Protestant population of the
village, about 10 families, had fled to the Rev'd. Edward Whitty's
house, Providence Lodge, just NW of town on the road to Arles where they
prepared to make a stand. The rebels attacked it but an account from the
time says he and eleven Protestants succeeded in its defence. I believe
that Samuel Allen, John Tomlinson, Abraham May, Daniel Murray, Thomas
Smith, Lancy Stephenson, Adam Taylor and Tom La Porte's own ancestors,
Joseph and William Bowles may have been in that group as each of their
houses was burned in Ballickmoyler that night. A number of rebels were
killed in the attack, one report from the time says 21 men died there,
and some others were reportedly killed in action in Ballickmoyler. A
plaque commemorating the dead was erected in the square there a few
years ago.
As the story of what happened at Ballickmoyler was recorded only in
the official papers of the time largely as a backlash against the
actions of the rebels, it's impossible to know whether events were
exactly as described above. Some people believe that the rebels were not
the ones who burned the village and maintain that was done by the
pursuing British Troops in revenge for the village having been used as a
rallying point. There are other documented occurrences of just such
actions so it remains a possibility. For example, in the July 10, 1798
edition of The Belfast Newsletter (p. 2 column 1) it was reported that
the Dunluce Cavalry, hearing that the town of Ballymoney had been
occupied by the rebels, marched on the town. When they arrived they
found that the rebels had merely marched through the town towards
Ballymena. However, finding the town mostly deserted and taking that as
a sign that the residents had joined the rebels, they burned the
majority of it. The report states that "a few houses of Loyalists
unavoidably suffered from their bad neighbourhood." The fact that the
only houses which are documented as having been burned in Ballickmoyler
were owned by Protestants would be explained by the fact that only those
with "a proven loyalty" were allowed to make a damage claim afterwards.
One indication that it may have been the rebels who burned the
Protestant houses is that the owners claims were only settled at 50% of
the claimed value. The Bill which allowed these claims provided only a
50% settlement for damages done by the rebels. If it had been soldiers
who burned the houses they would probably have received 100% of their
claim. If many Catholic houses had been burned as well that fact has not
been recorded or at least discovered yet.
Following the rebellion the government appointed a commission to
accept claims for damages suffered by citizen's loyal to His Majesty's
Government and to award them with compensation for their losses. The
list of claims which were filed for damages in Queen's county illustrate
just how central a role Ballickmoyler, Providence and nearby Castletown
and Coolanowle played in the rebellion.
Source: Tom La Porte
1798
Claims