The Croppies Acre memorial in Dublin commemorates the United Irish rebellion of 1798. It has been closed to the public for quite some time now, owing to anti-social problems.
This park serves a memorial to many young revolutionaries who were at the backbone of the first Republican movement in Ireland. Many were said to be buried here following their executions, though the claim is sometimes disputed. In a 1998 article about the memorial site, Aengus O Snodaigh noted that:
The most famous names to be recorded in the sad saga of Croppies’ Acre are those of Bartholomew Teeling and Matthew Tone, both hanged at the Provost Prison on Arbour Hill after the Battle of Ballinamuck on 8 September 1798. Bartholomew Teeling was a brother of Defender and United Irish leader Charles Teeling. Having come under suspicion himself he fled Ireland in 1796. Bartholomew was commissioned into the French Army at the instigation of Theobald Wolfe Tone, who also arranged a commission for his own brother Matthew, and took part in the failed expedition of General Hoche in December of that year….
The term ‘Croppy Boy’ was said to emerge from a hairstyle popular with revolutionaries of the day, their closely cropped hair a fashion adopted from French revolutionaries, associated with the anti-wig tendency in France. For many years this incredible site was unmarked, but the contemporary memorial at the site was erected in 1985, and includes some words from Robert Emmet:
No rising column marks the spot
Where many a victim lies
No bell here tolls its solemn sound
No monument here stands.
The site has been in the news in recent times for all the wrong reasons. In September 2012 the OPW, who are tasked with maintaining the site, made the decision to close it to the public. A recent article in the Irish Independent addressed this, and noted:
The Croppies Acre in central Dublin – described as “sacred ground” – has turned into a no-go zone because authorities say they can’t cope with drugs users and dirty syringes that litter the historical site.
Today some photographs from the memorial have emerged that demand attention. Posted to Facebook by the Sean Heuston Dublin 1916 Society, they reveal the extent to which the park has been abandoned by authorities. This particular image is shocking, but deserves a wider audience. Dublin is a city which suffers greatly to the scourge of addiction and drugs, and there is of course a need to provide for those suffering as a result. Yet this memorial park should not be allowed remain as it is, and there is an onus on the OPW and the city to maintain it.
it has never been proved that any croppy boys were buried ther
Good point. ‘Many were said to be buried here’ reflects better.
According to a historian I spoke to in the Collins Barracks museum, the Croppies were recorded as having been put in the field, where it is thought the tidal river (before it was restrained by quays) rose each day to carry the bodies away.
I’ve often attempted to go into the site to have a look but have then opted out at the last second, it has the potential to be lovely, but with a number of homeless services in the area, along luas lines etc. that poses a huge problem. It’s a pity because it could attract a lot of attention from those visiting the museum across the way. That’s a pretty shocking photo, glad you brought it was brought to our eyes.
That’s a remarkably tidy pile of needles.
The photo is after a clean up.
Shock horror!! I’m speechless!
Hi. Thanks for raising awareness about the state of Croppies Acre. Hopefully this awareness will shift the OPW into some sort of action as the security of the park could easily be guarenteed by the local Bridewell Garda station and the dozens od CCTV cameras in the area.
Any chance you blog could give a shout out to out upcoming lecture on 1798 this Saturday. Here is the info. Thanks, Kevin.
Seán Heuston 1916 Society are putting a series of educational lectures starting off at the beginning of it for republicans in 1798. It commences at 1pm, Saturday November 9th at the National History Museum (Collins Barracks). Author Gary Heary will be doing the talk and he’ll cover the various aspects of the 1798 Rebellion and the effects it had on later events in Ireland.
The talk is free for all who attend and we hope as many as possible join our members in what should be a worthwhile educational event for all.
[Event poster here]
http://yfrog.com/j5fvblj
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I can see Croppies Acre from my living room window. Last summer there were crowds of people sleeping under the trees along the wall. You could see them drinking there, going to toilet and doing other things. Plus the noise they were making, the slurred speech…. One day the branches got trimmed and then I could see loads of cans and rubbish under the trees. But there were no more people sleeping there and since then it has been quiet. But I don’t now what’s gonna happen in the next few months…
When we were growing up, we were told that the Croppy’s acre was situated in the triangular patch of land at the bottom of Temple St West and West of the Esplanade
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I reckon that the bodies of the executed Croppies would have been a very handy income for the Provost Sergeants if sold to anatomists. No one in officialdom would have cared if they were buried or not and families would have been scared to claim them for fear of implication and subsequent imprisonment themselves.