Croppy was a nickname given to

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...

rebels during the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influence ...

against

British rule in Ireland British rule in Ireland spanned several centuries and involved British control of parts, or entirety, of the island of Ireland. British involvement in Ireland began with the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169. Most of Ireland gained indepen ...

History

The nickname "Croppy" was used in

18th-century Ireland The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 (Roman numerals, MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 (Roman numerals, MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American Revolution, Ameri ...

in reference to the cropped hair worn by

Irish nationalists Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

who were opposed to the wearing of powdered periwigs closely associated with members of the

Protestant Ascendancy The ''Protestant Ascendancy'', known simply as the ''Ascendancy'', was the political, economic, and social domination of Ireland between the 17th century and the early 20th century by a minority of landowners, Protestant clergy, and members of th ...

. They were inspired by the ''

sans-culottes The (, 'without breeches') were the common people of the lower classes in late 18th-century France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their poor quality of life under the . The ...

'' of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, who also forewent the wearing of periwigs and other symbols associated with the

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

. During the

against

, many

rebels wore cropped hair, which led the

Dublin Castle administration Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

and government forces (in particular the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

and

yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...

) to frequently arrest anyone wearing the hairstyle as a suspected rebel. A form of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

known as

pitchcapping Pitchcapping is a form of torture which involves pouring hot pitch or tar (mainly used at the time for water-proofing seams in the sides of ships and boats) into a conical paper cap and forcing it onto an individual's head, which is then allow ...

was specifically invented to use on "croppies", who retaliated by cropping the hair of

Irish unionists Unionism is a political tradition on the island of Ireland that favours political union with Great Britain and professes loyalty to the United Kingdom, British Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Crown and Constitution of the United Kingdom, cons ...

to reduce the reliability of this method of identifying their sympathisers.

References

* The name is referenced in the title of two folk-songs of the period: the Loyalist song, ''

Croppies Lie Down {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 "Croppies Lie Down" is an Irish folk song, dating from the 1798 rebellion in Ireland, that celebrates the defeat of the Irish rebels. The author has been reported as George Watson-Taylor.WATSON TAYLOR, George (1771-1 ...

'' and the rebel song ''

''. * The memorial park in front of

Collins Barracks Collins Barracks ( ga, Dún Uí Choileáin) is a former military barracks in the Arbour Hill area of Dublin, Ireland. The buildings now house the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History. Previously housing both British Arm ...

, Dublin (now a part of the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thre ...

) is known as

Croppies' Acre The Croppies' Acre ( ga, Acra na gCraipithe), officially the Croppies Acre Memorial Park, is a public park in Dublin, Ireland. It contains a memorial to the dead of the 1798 Rebellion. History The site, located on the north bank of the River ...

, as the remains of people executed during and after the

1798 Rising The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influenced ...

were dumped there for the incoming tide of the tidal Liffey to remove; it was long thought they had been buried there. * In the church at Crooke,

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...

, there is a marker to indicate the grave of the Unknown Croppy, (the " Unknown Soldier" of the rebellion) as the nearby

Passage East Passage East () is a fishing village in County Waterford, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Waterford Harbour. It is 12 km from Waterford city 10 km from Dunmore East and 21 km from Tramore. History On 23 August 1170, Strong ...

and

Geneva Barracks Geneva Barracks ( ga, Beairic na Ginéive) in County Waterford, Ireland, was a barracks created in 1783 by converting a settlement which had been created for an 18th-century colony (New Geneva) of disaffected citizens of Geneva following the Gen ...

were sites of execution and transportation of many Irishmen. (The GPS coordinates for the grave of the Croppy Boy are N 52° 13.642' W006° 58.756' and the GPS coordinates for Geneva Barracks are N 52° 13.042' W006° 58.737'.) * The Pikeman Memorial in

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...

, a sculpture of a United Irishman commemorating the 1798 Rising, is known locally as The Croppy Boy. *

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

commemorated the fate of thousands of fallen

in his 1966 poem ''Requiem for the Croppies''.{{cite web, url=http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/seamus_heaney/poems/12705 , title=Requiem for the Croppies - Poem by Seamus Heaney , publisher=Famouspoetsandpoems.com , date= , accessdate=2021-12-17 * The term is used throughout

Leon Uris Leon Marcus Uris (August 3, 1924 – June 21, 2003) was an American author of historical fiction who wrote many bestselling books including '' Exodus'' (published in 1958) and ''Trinity'' (published in 1976). Life and career Uris was born in Ba ...

' historical novel on Ireland, ''

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

''.

External links

Song Lyrics - The Croppy Boy - Folksong

Irish Rebellion of 1798 Political slurs for people

History

See also

References

External links