Croppies Grave

Croppies Grave is a memorial in County Carlow that marks the mass burial site of around 640 United Irishmen killed during the rising of 1798. On 25 May 1798, insurgents who had gathered to attack Carlow town were caught in the streets by waiting military forces and cut down in large numbers. The dead were buried together in a former sand pit and covered with quicklime, forming the mound that the memorial now stands upon. The name “Croppies” came from the close-cropped hair worn by many of the rebels as a mark of their allegiance.

The site sits at Ninety-Eight Street (98 Street) in Graiguecullen, on the edge of Carlow town. A monument was raised over the grave to commemorate the centenary of the rebellion in 1898, and the surrounding walls and railings that enclose the site were funded by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The grave has long been a focus for commemoration in the county, with ceremonies held here to mark the events of 1798.

The memorial is set in a quiet urban spot and is free to visit at any time. For anyone with an interest in the 1798 rebellion and Ireland’s road to independence, it offers a direct and sobering connection to the people who died in and around Carlow during the rising.