Widow McCormack’s ‘Cabbage patch’

This week in 1848 the filed Young Ireland rebellion was played out in what came to be known as ‘The Widow McCormack’s cabbage patch’. Bought by the state in 1998 and known as the Ballingarry Warhouse, the site of the rebellion is an interesting place and holds great stories of the Famine era rebellion. The acquisition of the house was reported in the Kilkenny People newspaper in 1998 and gives an insight into its importance:

AN IMPORTANT site of historical interest has been given a boost by the State. Known locally as the War House, the Widow McCormack's house, Ballingarry, is to be acquired. The Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Aherne made the announcement during a 150th anniversary commemoration last week. "It would be our wish that the house would be refurbished and made the site of a permanent exhibition commemorating the events of the 1848 rebellion in this area", announced Mr Aherne. It was at the Widow McCormack's house that the brief Young Irelanders' rebellion of 1848 collapsed.

Followers of Young Ireland leader, William Smith O'Brien had besieged a group of armed police in the house. Believing that the answer to famine distress lay in self-government, O'Brien, a Protestant aristocrat and MP for Limerick, wanted to make a moral protest.

Refusing to allow the house to be set alight, and with news of approaching police reinforcements, O'Brien ordered his followers to disperse. Although many were injured, only two Young Irelanders were killed. No State forces died during the siege. The leaders of the rebellion either fled or were sent into exile in Tasmania.

But their legacy remained. The aide de camp to O'Brien, Kilkenny man, Jim Stephens, became one of the founders of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the IRB were responsible for the rebellion of 1867 and can also be linked to the 1916 uprising. Before seeing the Warhouse, the Taoiseach was taken to the National Flag Monument, The Commons, where Thomas Francis Meagher is reputed to have first flown the tricolour. Symbolising peace between the orange and green traditions, the flag is now flown daily at the memorial by the crossroads. Mr John Myles Dillon carried the tricolour sash worn by Meagher during the uprising. The 1848 uprising was part of a non-sectarian and cultural movement. It is hoped that in the present climate, the purchase of the War House by the State will re-emphasise these values. "In the year of the historic Good Friday Agreement, it is right that we remember earlier noble attempts to bring peace with justice and true democracy to our island", commented the Taoiseach. With the War House becoming a National Heritage site the area will get a huge boost. Many descendants of the rebels joined the large gathering of local people to commemorate the uprising. Among them were people from as far afield as Australia and America.

For more information search the pages of the Irish Newspaper Archive (www.irishnewsarchive.com )