The Battle of Castlebar takes place on August 27, 1798. A combined force of about 800 French troops under GeneralJean Joseph Amable Humbert and 2,000 United Irishmen rebels defeat a much larger British Crown force of 3,000 to 5,000 men led by General Gerard Lake. The French, though exhausted from long marches, exploit the disorganisation of Lake’s militia-heavy army, routing it in what becomes known as the “Castlebar Races” or “Races of Castlebar.” The British suffer heavy casualties — around 400 killed or wounded and 800 captured, while the French lose about 200 to 220.
The victory at Castlebar is a significant boost to the rebels, but it also alarms the British government. Cornwallis, commanding the Crown forces in the west, is tasked with reasserting control and preventing further advances into Ulster. By September 4, he has moved from Tuam to threaten Castlebar, aiming to recapture the town and disrupt Humbert’s plans to push north into County Sligo and beyond.
Anticipating Cornwallis’s move, Humbert evacuates Castlebar with his remaining troops — roughly 800 French soldiers and 1,000 Irish insurgents — and marches north into County Sligo. His objective is to ignite further rebellion in Ulster, continuing the momentum of the short-lived “Republic of Connacht.” This evacuation leaves the town vulnerable to British reoccupation.
While Humbert’s force is retreating, fresh risings broke out in counties Longford and Westmeath, showing the insurrection’s reach. However, these uprisings are ultimately suppressed, and the British, under commanders like Cornwallis, work to mop up rebel strongholds across Ireland.
In summary, on September 4, 1798, Cornwallis’s advance from Tuam is a direct response to the rebel victory at Castlebar, aiming to regain a key rebel-held town and halt Humbert’s northern push. The move reflects the British strategy of localized offensives to counter the momentum of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
(Pictured: Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis)
The Julian calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE, has a leap year rule that adds a day every four years. This makes the average year 365.25 days long, about 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the true solar year. Over centuries, this small error accumulates, causing the calendar to drift out of sync with the seasons. By 1752, the Julian calendar is 11 days ahead of the equinoxes, affecting the date of Easter and other seasonal events.
The Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 mandates the switch. To correct the drift, the Act declares that Wednesday, September 2, 1752, is immediately followed by Thursday, September 14, 1752 — effectively skipping September 3–13. This also adjusts the leap year rules to match the Gregorian system, omitting leap years in century years not divisible by 400.
The change is controversial. Britain and Ireland have been on the Julian calendar since 1582, with the New Year starting on March 25 (Lady Day). Adopting the Gregorian system means shortening 1751 to 282 days (March 25 to December 31) and aligning with Continental Europe, which had already made the switch in the 16th century.
Political debates, especially between the Whigs and Tories, reflect fears of losing sovereignty and of embracing “Popery.” While there are rumors of “calendar riots” demanding the return of the “lost” 11 days, these are likely exaggerated.
There are several impacts with making the change. There is historical confusion as dual dating (e.g., “Feb 10, 1750/51”) is common for decades. There are economic and social effects as birthdays, rent payments, and holidays are thrown off. The change also allows for international alignment as the change facilitates trade and communication with Europe.
The 1752 switch marks a turning point in British and Irish history, bringing the calendar into line with most of Europe and setting the stage for the Gregorian calendar’s eventual global dominance. Today, the Gregorian calendar is the world’s standard civil calendar, a legacy of this 18th-century reform.
Humbert is the eldest of six children of Jean-Joseph Humbert, a farmer and trader, and Catherine (née Privat), who dies when he is three years old. From a modest rural background, he works briefly as a hatter and rabbit hunter before entering the military in July 1789 amid the early stages of the French Revolution.
In 1796, Humbert is assigned to prepare for an expedition to Ireland. In the ill-fated Expédition d’Irlande, his ship Droits de l’Homme is wrecked off the Bay of Audierne in January 1797, but he survives. In 1798, he leads about 1,000 French troops to Ireland, landing at Killala. His forces fight and win at Ballina and the Races of Castlebar, proclaiming a Republic of Connacht before being defeated and captured at the Battle of Ballinamuck. He is exchanged for British prisoners.
In 1810, Humbert emigrates to New Orleans, where he becomes acquainted with French pirate Jean Lafitte. He joins the Buenos Aires rebellion in 1814 before returning home. In 1815, he fights the British at the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812, earning thanks from General Andrew Jackson. He later lives as a schoolteacher in New Orleans until his death on January 3, 1823.
Humbert’s career spans revolutionary France, Napoleonic campaigns, and post-Napoleonic adventures, making him a notable figure in late 18th- and early 19th-century military history.
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 has been suppressed in the east by British forces, but unrest continues in the west. The French Directory, influenced by Enlightenment ideals and shared revolutionary sympathies with the United Irishmen, see an opportunity to strike a blow against Britain and inspire Irish republicanism. The plan is to land French troops in Ireland to provide military aid to the rebels, incite a general uprising and potentially use Ireland as a staging ground for further operations against Britain.
The July 19 authorization marks the final political clearance for the operation. The first expedition is entrusted to GeneralJean Joseph Amable Humbert (pictured), a veteran of irregular warfare against the Vendéen insurgents. The force is small—about 1,025 French troops, three light field cannons, 3,000 muskets, and 400 sabres—but includes Irish allies such as Bartholomew Teeling and Fr. Henry O’Kane, who help spread the news of the landing.
On August 6, 1798, Humbert’s three frigates—La Concorde, La Franchise, and La Médée—sail from La Rochelle, taking a circuitous route to avoid British naval detection. They land at Killala Bay, County Mayo, where they quickly take control of the town, hoisting the French flag and rallying local Irish recruits.
Humbert’s landing in Killala, known locally as Bliadhan na bhFrancach (“The Year of the French”), sparks a brief but significant phase of the Rising. His forces achieve notable victories, such as the Races of Castlebar, but ultimately cannot sustain momentum against the British response. Humbert surrenders to British forces at Ballinamuck, County Longford, on September 8, 1798.
In summary, the July 19, 1798, authorization by the French Directory is the decisive political step that enables Humbert’s small but symbolic invasion of Ireland, which, though militarily limited, becomes a potent symbol of French-Irish revolutionary solidarity.
On July 5, 1790, the Irish mail coach service makes its first run from Dublin to Waterford, marking a significant milestone in Ireland’s postal history. This is part of the broader expansion of the General Post Office’s (GPO) mail coach network, which had been introduced in Ireland in 1789.
A twice-weekly mail coach service operates between Dublin and Drogheda to the north, Kilkenny to the south and Athlone to the west as early as 1737 and for a short period from 1740, a Dublin to Belfast mail coach exists. In winter, this route takes three days, with overnight stops at Drogheda and Newry. In summer, travel time is reduced to two days. In 1789, mail coaches begin a scheduled service from Dublin to Belfast. They meet the mail boats coming from Portpatrick in Scotland at Donaghadee, County Down.
The Irish mail coach system is modeled on the successful English service introduced in 1784 by John Palmer, which uses specially built coaches to carry the Royal Mail under contract to independent operators. These coaches are designed for speed and efficiency, stopping only for mail collection and delivery, and are protected by armed guards. The Dublin–Waterford route is one of the early inland services added to the network, complementing other major routes such as London–Norwich, Liverpool–Leeds, and London–Dover.
The July 5, 1790 run from Dublin to Waterford is notable because it is the first scheduled mail coach service on that route, replacing slower and less secure methods like mounted riders or carts. It demonstrates the GPO’s ability to extend its network to key inland towns, improving communication between Dublin and the southeast of Ireland. It also reflects the rapid expansion of the mail coach system in Ireland by 1790, with many towns already having daily mail delivery and collection.
While the primary purpose is to carry the Royal Mail, passengers can also travel at a premium fare. The coaches can carry four seated passengers inside and more standing outside, with the driver and guard occupying the front seats. The journey from Dublin to Waterford is relatively short for the time, but still requires careful scheduling to meet the strict post office timetable.
This first run lays the foundation for a regular mail service that becomes a vital part of Ireland’s transport and communication infrastructure until the advent of railways in the 1830s. By the mid-19th century, most of the mail coaches in Ireland are eventually out-competed by Charles Bianconi’s country-wide network of open carriages, before this system in turn succumbs to the railways. The Dublin–Waterford route, like others, is eventually replaced by the faster rail services, but its role in modernizing Ireland’s postal system is crucial.
The United Irish rebels, under Fr. John Murphy’s command, have been encamped on land belonging to a Mr. Donovan at the foot of Carrigrew Hill on June 2 and 3. This small respite from hostilities and marching affords the rebels some rest and time to re-group from previous skirmishes. Some of the rebels take leave to visit their families during these two days before re-joining the camp in advance of their move north toward Gorey.
On the morning of the June 4, Lieutenant-General Loftus and Lieutenant-Colonel Walpole march out of Gorey with 1,200 men with the intention of attacking the rebel encampment at Carrigrew Hill. Loftus leads his 600 men out the Ballycanew road to attack the camp from the east while Walpole heads due south via Clough to attack the camp on its northern side.
Having received advanced warnings of the British plans, the poorly equipped rebel army of 10,000 to 12,000 men sets out from Carrigrew Hill and marches through Ballyoughter on to Tubberneering. Their aim is to defeat the Crown forces in Gorey and release rebel prisoners that have been captured and imprisoned there.
On approaching Tubberneering, a vanguard of rebels is warned by a scouting party returning from Clough that the British forces are heading their way. The vanguard sets up an ambush with musketeers on top of the rock at Tubberneering and pikemen laying in wait inside the ditch along the road south of Cain bridge.
The battle is an ambush of a British force of 400 men under Lieutenant-Colonel Walpole, containing one troop of regular cavalry (the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards) and militia and yeomanry auxiliaries. They are ambushed in a narrow defile by United Irish rebels, led by Fr. John Murphy. Walpole and one hundred men are killed, while the rest throw away their weapons and uniforms and flee. The regular dragoons make an attempt to fight back but are in a bad place for cavalry so they withdraw. This defeat allows three cannon to be captured which are subsequently used against British troops at the Battle of Arklow. The rebels are unable to take Arklow however. The day after the engagement at Tubberneering, the United Irishmen attempt to take New Ross in the south of County Wexford but are repulsed at a heavy cost.
Yelverton is the eldest son of Francis Yelverton of Kanturk, County Cork, and Elizabeth Barry, daughter of Jonas Barry of Kilbrin (now Ballyclogh, County Cork). His father dies when he is only ten. His mother reaches a great age, dying only a year before her son. He goes to school in Charleville and Midleton College, and attends Trinity College Dublin, where he takes a degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1757 and of Bachelor of Laws in 1761. His family lacks wealth and social position and he is for some years an assistant master under Andrew Buck in the Hibernian Academy. This menial occupation is later a source of great embarrassment to him, as his enemies love to ridicule him as “Buck’s usher.”
In 1761, Yelverton marries Mary Nugent, daughter of William Nugent of Clonlost, County Westmeath, and his wife Ursula Aglionby, a lady of some fortune, and is thus enabled to read for the Irish Bar, entering the Middle Temple. He is called to the Bar in 1764. Despite his lack of family connections, his success in his profession is rapid, due to his legal ability, charm and remarkable eloquence, and he takes silk eight years afterward.
Yelverton is elected to the Irish House of Commons as member for Donegal Borough from 1774 to 1776. In the latter year, he is elected for both Belfast and Carrickfergus. He chooses to sit for the latter constituency and represents Carrickfergus until 1784. Although few examples of his oratory survive, all contemporaries agree on his eloquence, which gives him a dominant position in the Commons. He also serves as Recorder of Carrickfergus from 1778 until his death. This is not a Crown appointment as the Recorder is elected by a vote of the entire town corporation.
Yelverton gives his support to Henry Grattan and the Whigs during the greater part of his parliamentary career. He is a strong supporter of the demand for an independent Irish Parliament, but later changes his stance.
Yelverton plays a crucial role in the reforms which are collectively called the Irish Constitution of 1782. In particular he sponsors the Act 21 and 22 of George III, An Act to regulate the manner of passing bills and to prevent delays in summoning of Parliaments – which is popularly known as “Yelverton’s Act.” This radically modifies Poynings’ Law of 1495 by which all legislation to be passed by the Irish Parliament has to be drafted by the Privy Council of Ireland, then sent to the English privy council for approval. Under Yelverton’s Act, the role of the Irish Privy Council is abolished and legislation is commenced in the normal way in the Irish Parliament, which for the last 17 years of its existence enjoys a wide measure of independence.
In his latter days, Yelverton becomes identified with the court party and votes for the Act of Union 1800, for which his viscounty is a reward. For this he is never forgiven by many of his former friends. Sir Jonah Barrington, who continues to regard Yelverton with affection and respect, regrets that this action should have destroyed his reputation forever, but he argues that such a mistake of judgment is understandable in a man who lacks worldly wisdom, and despite his many good qualities, does not have a strong moral sense.
Yelverton becomes Attorney-General for Ireland in 1782, and is elevated to the bench as Lord Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1783. He is created Baron Yelverton in 1795, and in 1800 Viscount Avonmore in the Peerage of Ireland. As Chief Baron, he leads the opposition to the proposal to increase the number of judges in each of the courts of common law from three to four, on the practical ground that four-judge courts often divide evenly and thus cannot reach an effective decision. Despite this common-sense view, the new judges are eventually appointed.
In 1797, Yelverton attains a degree of infamy for presiding over what is widely regarded as a “show trial” which leads to the execution of the United Irishman, William Orr, although he is said to have shed tears when passing the death sentence on Orr. Orr is charged with administering the United Irish oath to a soldier called Hugh Wheatly. This had recently become a capital offence. In fact, it is generally believed that another man, William McKeever, administered the oath. Wheatly, who is the principal witness for the prosecution, later confesses that he had perjured himself, but despite a superb defence by John Philpot Curran, Orr is found guilty and hanged. Yelverton may have formed an early impression of Orr’s guilt and acted on it – even his admirers admitted that as a judge he lacks impartiality.
Peter Finnerty, a journalist, is later convicted of seditious libel for publishing an attack on Yelverton over his conduct of Orr’s trial and this does nothing to enhance the judge’s reputation.
Yelverton dies on August 19, 1805, at his mansion, Fortfield House, Terenure, County Dublin, which he had built at great expense around 1785. He is buried nearby in Rathfarnham.
The Battle of Naas is one of the early confrontations in the 1798 Irish Rebellion, which aims to end British rule in Ireland. On the night of May 23, 1798, a large group of rebels, primarily composed of United Irishmen, mobilize in County Kildare, preparing to attack the garrison in Naas, which is considered one of the strongest military positions in the area.
At approximately 2:30 a.m. on May 24, the rebels, led by Michael Reynolds, launches their assault from multiple directions. They initially achieved some success, pushing the garrison back to a barricade near the jail. However, the defenders, numbering around 250 men and equipped with artillery, manage to regroup and repel the attack.
The battle lasts about an hour, during which the rebels face heavy resistance. Ultimately, they are forced to retreat, suffering significant casualties—around 135 rebels are killed, while government forces lose about 25 men. The aftermath sees many rebels arrested, and the military pursues the fleeing insurgents, leading to further casualties among the retreating forces.
In a contemporary development, skeletal remains believed to be linked to the 1798 Rebellion are discovered in Naas in late September 2025. This site, known as Gallows Glen, is associated with executions during the rebellion, and the discovery sparks interest in the historical significance of the battle and its aftermath.
The Battle of Naas is a pivotal moment in the 1798 Rebellion, illustrating the fierce resistance of the rebels against British rule. The recent archaeological findings further highlight the ongoing historical interest in this event and its impact on Irish history. The battle remains a significant part of the narrative surrounding the struggle for Irish independence.
Troy receives his early education at Liffey Street, Dublin. At the age of sixteen he joins the Dominican Order and proceeds to their house of San Clemente at Rome. Historian Edward D’Alton notes that he is “amenable to discipline, diligent in his studies, and talented.” He makes rapid progress, and while still a student is appointed to give lectures in philosophy. Subsequently, he teaches theology and canon law, and finally becomes prior/rector of the convent in 1772.
When Thomas Burke, the Bishop of Ossory, dies in 1776, the priests of the diocese recommend one of their number, Father Molloy, to Rome for the vacant see, and the recommendation is endorsed by many of the Irish bishops. But Troy, who is held in high esteem at Rome, has already been appointed Bishop of Ossory. He is consecrated at Leuven in June 1777 by the nuncio to Flanders, Archbishop (later Cardinal) Ignazio Busca.
Troy arrives at Kilkenny in August 1777 and for the next nine years he Labour a hard for the spiritual interests of his diocese. Maddened by excessive rents and tithes, and harried by grinding tithe-proctors, farmers have banded themselves together in a secret society called the “Whiteboys,” so called from the white smocks the members wear in their nightly raids. They attack landlords, bailiffs, agents, and tithe-proctors, and often commit fearful outrages. Bishop Troy frequently and sternly denounces them, declaring any who join the secret society to be excommunicated. He has no sympathy with oppression, but he had lived long in Rome, and does not fully appreciate the extent of misery in which the poor Catholic masses live.
Troy is ready to condemn all violent efforts for reform, and has no hesitation in denouncing not only all secret societies in Ireland, but also “our American fellow-subjects, seduced by specious notions of liberty.” This makes him unpopular. He is zealous in correcting abuses in his diocese and in promoting education. So well is this recognized at Rome that in 1781, in consequence of some serious troubles which have arisen between the primate and his clergy, Troy is appointed Administrator of Armagh. He holds this office until 1782.
Upon the death of Archbishop John Carpenter of Dublin in 1786, Troy is appointed to succeed him. At Dublin, as at Ossory, he shows his zeal for religion, his sympathy with authority, and his distrust of popular movements, especially when violent means are employed. Though his circular, issued on March 15, 1792, disavowing the authority of any ecclesiastical power to absolve subjects from their allegiance, is believed to influence the concession in that year of the relaxations embodied in Langrishe’s Act, and the extension of the franchise to Roman Catholics in 1793, he declines to associate himself with John Keogh and other Catholic reformers in their demands for further relief.
In early 1798, the French Directory conquers Rome, and establishes the Roman Republic. Its ally in Ireland, the Society of United Irishmen, starts a rebellion in May 1798. Troy issues a sentence of excommunication against all those of his flock who decide to join the rebellion. In a pastoral read in all the churches, he speaks of the clerical organisers of the rebellion as “vile prevaricators and apostates from religion, loyalty, honour, and decorum, degrading their sacred character, and the most criminal and detestable of rebellious and seditious culprits.” Hus action at this time appears to endanger his life. But the influence he has acquired with the government enables him to moderate the repressive measures taken by the authorities. Believing that Catholic emancipation can never be conceded by the Irish parliament, he is one of the most determined supporters of the Union.
In 1799, Troy agrees to accept the veto of government on the appointment of bishops in Ireland, and even when the other bishops, feeling they have been tricked by Pitt and Castlereagh, repudiate the veto, he continues to favour it. However, in 1809, he recommends Daniel Murray be appointed his coadjutor. Murray is an uncompromising opponent of the veto, and while Troy’s coadjutor, makes trips in 1814 and 1815 to Rome concerning the controversy.
In April 1815, Archbishop Troy lays the foundation of St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Marlborough Street, Dublin, but does not live to see it completed. He dies in Dublin on May 11, 1823, at the age of eighty-four. He dies very poor, leaving scarce sufficient to pay for his burial, and is interred in the unfinished St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral.
In the administration of his diocese and in his private life, Troy is eminently zealous, pious, and charitable. Although his cordial relations with the government expose him to many suspicions and accusations, there is no ground for questioning the integrity of his motives and conduct, which are inspired by his views of the interest of his church. His distrust of revolutionary tendencies in civil affairs is fully aligned with the policy of the Vatican throughout his career. John D’Alton speaks of Troy as “a truly learned and zealous pastor, … a lover and promoter of the most pure Christian morality, vigilant in the discharge of his duty, and devotedly solicitous not only for the spiritual good of those consigned to his charge, but also for the public quiet of the state.”
Hamilton Rowan lives there with his mother and sister for much of his early life. He is admitted to Queens’ College, Cambridge in 1768, but is expelled from the college and rusticated for an attempt to throw a tutor into the River Cam. He is sent for a period in 1769 to Warrington Academy.
Hamilton Rowan travels throughout the 1770s and 1780s, visiting parts of Europe, the Americas, and North Africa. In 1781, he marries Sarah Dawson in Paris, France. The couple has ten children. He is the godfather of the Irish mathematician William Rowan Hamilton.
Hamilton Rowan returns to Ireland in his thirties, in 1784, to live at Rathcoffey near Clane in County Kildare. He becomes a celebrity and, despite his wealth and privilege, a strong advocate for Irish liberty. That same year he joins the KillyleaghVolunteers, a militia group later associated with radical reform. He first gains public attention by championing the cause of fourteen-year-old Mary Neal in 1788. Neal had been lured into a Dublin brothel and then assaulted by Henry Luttrell, 2nd Earl of Carhampton. Hamilton Rowan publicly denounces Luttrell and publishes a pamphlet A Brief Investigation of the Sufferings of John, Anne, and Mary Neal in the same year. An imposing figure at more than six feet tall, his notoriety grows when he enters a Dublin dining club threatening several of Mary Neal’s detractors, with his massive Newfoundland at his side and a shillelagh in hand. The incident wins him public applause and celebrity as a champion of the poor.
In 1790 Hamilton Rowan joins the Northern Whig Club, and by October has become a founding member of the Dublin Society of United Irishmen, working alongside famous radicals such as William Drennan and Theobald Wolfe Tone. He is arrested in 1792 for seditious libel when caught handing out “An Address to the Volunteers of Ireland,” a piece of United Irish propaganda. Unknown to him, from 1791 Dublin Castle has a spy in the Dublin Society, Thomas Collins, whose activity is never discovered. From February 1793, Britain and Ireland join the War of the First Coalition against France, and the United Irish movement is outlawed in 1794.
Hamilton Rowan’s reputation for radicalism and bluster grow during this time when he leaves Ireland to confront the Lord Advocate of Scotland about negative comments made in respect to his character and that of members of the Society of United Irishmen. As a prominent member of the Irish gentry, he is an important figure in the United Irishmen and becomes the contact for the Scottish radical societies as a result of his visit. Upon his return to Dublin, he is charged and is found guilty of seditious libel, even though he is excellently defended by the famous John Philpot Curran. He is sentenced to two years imprisonment, receives a fine of £500, and is forced to pay two assurities for good behaviour of £1,000 each. In January 1794, he retires to his apartments in Dublin’s Newgate Prison.
In the years following, Hamilton Rowan spends time in exile in France, the United States and Germany. He is allowed to return to Ireland in 1806. He returns to the ancestral home of Killyleagh Castle, County Down, receiving a hero’s welcome. While he agrees to be a model citizen under the conditions of his return to Ireland, he remains active in politics and retains his youthful radicalism. Following his last public appearance at a meeting in the Rotunda in Dublin on January 20, 1829, he is lifted up by a mob and paraded through the streets.
Hamilton Rowan dies at the age of 84 in his home on November 1, 1834. He is buried in the vaults of St. Mary’s Church, Dublin.
seamus dubhghaill 