Battle of the Harrow

Part of the United Irishmen Rebellion

Date	26 May 1798 (1798-05-25)
Location	County Wexford
Result	United Irishmen victory

Belligerents

United Irishmen

British Army

Commanders and leaders

John Murphy

Lieutenant Bookey

Strength

c.40

c.20

Casualties and losses

None

6-8 killed

The Battle of the Harrow took place on 26 May 1798 and was the first clash of the 1798 rebellion in County Wexford. It was fought between British troops (specifically a unit of Wexford yeoman cavalry, the Camolin Cavalry) and insurgents under the leadership of a local priest, John Murphy who had mobilized following reports of atrocities by Yeomen during the rebellion led by the United Irishmen revolutionary organisation.

News of the outbreak of the rebellion to the north had filtered down to County Wexford and was accompanied by the arrival of two military regiments notorious for their brutality: the North Cork Militia and a Welsh cavalry unit known as the Ancient Britons. In addition, regular yeomanry patrols of the countryside and reports of a massacre of prisoners by yeomen in Carnew added to the atmosphere of widespread fear. As a consequence, many people banded together to watch for military patrols or abandoned their homes to hide in the countryside.

One such group, numbering about forty, were gathered by Father John Murphy near the village of The Harrow on the evening of the 26 May. Ostensibly the men had come to cut turf for Father Murphy, their local curate, which was a custom at the time. This ruse allowed the men to carry turf cutters, which could serve as rudimentary weapons, but they also had a small number of firearms concealed nearby.

Meanwhile, a patrol of about twenty local yeomen cavalry were approaching, alerted by the reports of rebellion and seeking a number of suspected United Irishmen. The yeomen initially passed Fr. Murphy's group without incident, but the bulk of the patrol halted nearby while their commanding officer, a Lieutenant Bookey, together with a private, John Donovan, rode on ahead to the dwelling of one of the suspected United Irishmen. Finding their target was not at home, they two set fire to the cabin and then turned back to rejoin their unit. The rebels attacked the yeomanry, killing Bookey and Donovan; the remainder of the patrol fled.

The official version of events was recorded in the entry for 26 May 1798 in the Detail Book of the Camolin Cavalry;

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