Battle of Carlow, 25th May 1798

Following the outbreak of the 1798 Rebellion on 24th May in county Kildare, Carlow rebels assembled on the night of the 24th and set off at dawn to attack the County town and picked up more volunteers along the way. Their numbers swelled to 1,200 and marching unopposed, the rebels quickly reached the centre of the seemingly deserted town. The Irish Rebellion of 1798 or 1798 rebellion as it is known locally, was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against the British establishment in Ireland. ... (Redirected from 24th May) May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ... Kildare (Irish: Cill Dara) is a town in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland. ... Carlow (Ceatharlach in Irish, meaning four-part lake) is an inland town in the south-east of Ireland in County Carlow, 84 km from Dublin. ...

The garrison had information of the impending attack however and had prepared a deadly ambush, posting men at every window and rooftop. As the rebels relaxed after their apparently easy victory, the concealed soldiers poured volley after volley of gunfire into the masses of exposed rebels. Taken completely by surprise, the shocked and poorly armed rebels broke and fled only to run into another army ambush. The survivors tried to escape by breaking through adjoining houses and cabins which were set alight by the pursuing soldiers causing the deaths of 200 of the inhabitants.

An estimated 500 rebels and civilians were killed in the steets of the town with another 150 executed in the reprisals that ensued over the following ten days. There were no reported losses to the military.