By Dan Walsh
Pikemen and women from many parts of Wexford will take the sailing from Ballyhack to Passage East and then march to the grave of The Croppy Boy at Crook Graveyard in a special 1798 commemorative event next Saturday starting at 2pm.
The event is being organised by Tim Corrigan and Michael Fortune and back in June, Michael recorded Tim and a few of his friends at the grave in Crook Graveyard in Waterford. The site was badly overgrown and forgotten about locally, so Tim, Margaret O’Neill Wall and Seamus Corrigan cleaned it up and got a new stone cut. Michael travelled down one evening in June and made a little film about this and also recorded Tim singing The Croppy Boy.
Folklore tells us that this was a spot where a ‘Croppy Boy’ was buried in 1798, however Michael says that “we have no definitive evidence to say a poor Croppy was buried here but the story exists in local folk memory and we there is no denying that thousands of United Irishmen were held prisoner in the nearby Geneva Barracks. So, in some ways we are remembering the spirit of the Croppy Boy and all of those men, young and old, in this commemoration.”
The organisers would love to see a big crowd attend from Wexford and everyone is welcome to come on board and join in the march from local groups, clubs, schools etc.
People are asked to arrive at 2pm at Ballyhack Ferry where at 2.30pm they cross on ferry to Passage. Please note there is a free bus available in Passage to drive anyone that can’t walk up to the graveyard. The distance in 1.7km and everyone is welcome to follow the march from Passage to Crook Graveyard.
There will be short speeches, songs and wreath laying at the graveside and then back to the local GAA complex for refreshments. For more information please call Tim on 085 7351403 or Michael on 087 6470247.
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