In marking the 225th anniversary of the fatal routing of the United Irishmen at the Battle of Vinegar Hill,
listen to Seamus Heaney reading "Requiem for the Croppies"
recorded on the LP: The Northern Muse (Claddagh Records, 1968)
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"Requiem for the Croppies" by Seamus Heaney
[written to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising]
orig. publication: Dublin Magazine, v5 no2 (Summer 1966), p. 48
republished: Door into the Dark (Faber & Faber, 1969), p.24
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Until, on Vinegar Hill, the fatal conclave.
Terraced thousands died, shaking scythes at cannon
"Requiem for the Croppies" by Seamus Heaney
mid/late 19th C. depictions of the Battle of Vinegar Hill by William Sadler (b.1808)
NLI PD 3176 TX 1 & PD 3176 TX 6
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"Requiem for the Croppies" by Seamus Heaney
verses inscribed on 1798 memorials in Castlecomer (Co. Kilkenny), Dundalk (Co. Louth) & Curraha (Co.Meath)
Uninscribed, yet regularly quoted at commemorations in Wexford
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They buried us without shroud or coffin
And in August barley grew up out of the grave
"Requiem for the Croppies" by Seamus Heaney
1798 memorial in the Garden of Remembrance, Ballinamuck (Co.Longford) features the folk motif of barley growing out of graves on the battlefield
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"Requiem for the Croppies" by Seamus Heaney is about '98 in Wexford, not Antrim & Down
“That our finest poet is more moved by the plight of the Wexford rebels than those of his native province says much about our present troubles”
ATQ Stewart, Irish Times, 10 Oct. 1998
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Welcome to the 225th anniversary of the 1798 Rebellion
“growing up Heaney knew little about 1916 but a lot about 1798...”
Patrick Murphy, Irish News, 28 Apr. 2023
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