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 influenced ...
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 indepe ...
.
History
The nickname "Croppy" was used in
18th-century Ireland 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 . T ...
'' 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 conside ...
, 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 aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At the time of the word' ...
. 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 influenced ...
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 indepe ...
, many
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 wore cropped hair, which led the
Dublin Castle administration 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 Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles.
History
Origins
In the 1790s, f ...
) 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 ...
known as
pitchcapping 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.
See also
*
Defenders
Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to:
*Defense (military)
*Defense (sports)
**Defender (association football)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary
* ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...
*
Ribbonmen
* ''
The Croppy Boy''
*
Whiteboys
The Whiteboys ( ga, na Buachaillí Bána) were a secret Irish agrarian organisation in 18th-century Ireland which defended tenant-farmer land-rights for subsistence farming. Their name derives from the white smocks that members wore in the ...
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- ...
'' and the rebel song ''
The Croppy Boy''.
* 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 thr ...
) 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 county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. Waterford City and County Council is the local authority for t ...
, 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, Stron ...
and
Geneva Barracks 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 Count ...
, 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
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, ...
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 Bal ...
' 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 th ...
''.
External links
Song Lyrics - The Croppy Boy - Folksong
Irish Rebellion of 1798
Political slurs for people