Edward Hay (1761–1826) was the author of a book on 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 ...

, and a witness to many of the events of that time.

Early life

Edward Hay was born, about 1761, at Ballinkeele (near Crossabeg),

Co. Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, into a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family. His family were large landowners and were long-established in the County. Hay was educated in France and Germany. His father was Harvey Hay.

Rebellion

Hay was witness to many of the events in

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

town during the Rebellion. Hay's brother, John, was a prominent Rebel leader, who was executed near the end of the Rebellion on Wexford bridge, 26 June 1798. John Hay was buried in Kilmallock graveyard,

. Another brother, Philip, was a member of the British Army, and was buried in England. Edward Hay was tried for involvement in the Rebellion, but was acquitted. It is clear from Hay's own account and from Miles Byrne's ''Memoirs'' that Edward Hay himself had little involvement in the actual fighting, but his actual role is in organizing and promoting the Rebellion is far less certain.

Book

Hay's book was first published in 1803 as ''"History of the Insurrection of the County of Wexford, A. D. 1798"''. This was one of the first accounts of the Rebellion. It was reprinted many times, usually under the slightly altered title of ''"History of the Irish insurrection of 1798"'', presumably to appeal to a wider audience. Most of these reprints omit Hay's 1803 Introduction and Appendix, as well as his large fold-out map of

. Hay's original 1803 book is now scarce, but is now available on the Internet - less the map. However, an exact copy of his map was reprinted in Wheeler and Broadley's, "The War in Wexford: An Account of the Rebellion in the South of Ireland in 1798" (London & New York, 1910).

Dublin

Hay lived in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in later years and was a prominent member of the Catholic Committee and a very active member of the

Catholic Association The Catholic Association was an Irish Roman Catholic political organisation set up by Daniel O'Connell in the early nineteenth century to campaign for Catholic emancipation within Great Britain. It was one of the first mass-membership politica ...

. He was Secretary of the

, 1806 - 1819.

Biographies

Margaret Ó'hÓgartaigh has produced both a thesis and a biography of Edward Hay. The Wexford historian, William Sweetman, published a biography of Edward Hay in 2019

Death

Edward Hay died at

, 13 October 1826, and is buried in St. James' graveyard,

Kilmainham Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. The area was once known as Kilmanum. History In th ...

, where his

headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...

can still be seen.

References

*Edward Hay, ''"History of the Insurrection of the County of Wexford, A. D. 1798"'' (Dublin, 1803
Read it on Google Books
*

Thomas Cloney Thomas Cloney (1773 – 20 February 1850) was a United Irishman, and leader of the rebellion in County Wexford in 1798, and with Robert Emmet a co-conspirator in the attempt to renew the republican insurrection in 1803. Rebel Thomas Cloney w ...

, ''"A personal narrative of those transactions in the county Wexford, in which the author was engaged, during the awful period of 1798 ..."'' (Dublin, 1832). *Thomas Lacy, ''"Sights and scenes in our fatherland"'' (London & Dublin, 1863). *Stephen Gwynn (ed.), ''"Memoirs of Miles Byrne - edited by his Widow"'', 2 vols. (Dublin & London, 1907). *H.B.F. Wheeler and A.M. Broadley, ''"The War in Wexford: An Account of the Rebellion in the South of Ireland in 1798"'' (London & New York, 1910). *Margaret Ó hÓgartaigh, ''"Edward Hay, Wexford historian of 1798"'', in ''"Journal of the Wexford Historical Society (Old Wexford Society)"'' No. 17 (1998–99), pp 159 – 175. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Edward History of County Wexford 1761 births 1826 deaths Writers from County Wexford United Irishmen