#OTD in 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion | In the first Battle of Enniscorthy, the rebels take the town.

The Battle of Enniscorthy was a land battle fought between forces of the British Crown and a force of Irish Rebels at Enniscorthy, Co Wexford. The attack began at about 1pm, when the Rebels drove a herd of cattle through the towns’s Duffry gate, creating disorder among the loyalist defenders. After a defense of about three hours, the loyalist force abandoned the town and fled in great disorder to Wexford.

Many Irish towns have a town wall, Enniscorthy has a gate, The Duffry Gate, a name representing the area called DUBH TIRE in Irish and translated as the ‘The Black Country’. At Enniscorthy, The Duffry is the periphery of a vast area stretching from the Slaney to the Backstairs Mountain, which some 15 centuries ago existed a dense forest of oak, and is recounted in legend – ‘The Battle of Enniscorthy’.

Image | The Duffry Gate, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford

 

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