Cornelius Grogan 1798 memorial at Redmondstown church - geograph

Cornelius Grogan (1738?–1798), was a

United Irishman ''The United Irishman'' was an Irish nationalist newspaper co-founded by Arthur Griffith and William Rooney.Arthur Griffith

and commissary-general in the insurgent army of

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/N1 ...

in the

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 ...

Biography

Grogan was born about 1738, the eldest son of John Grogan of

Johnstown Castle Johnstown Castle is a Gothic Revival castle located in County Wexford, Ireland. Location Johnstown Castle is located on the Johnstown Castle Estate, a estate, located off the road between Murntown and Rathaspeck, southwest of Wexford tow ...

, by his wife Catherine, daughter and heiress of Major Andrew Knox of Rathmacknee. His father, a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

landlord, was a member of the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two cham ...

. His mother was the heiress of a well-known

Scots Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: * Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland * Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland * Scoti, a Latin na ...

family, which produced two

bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

. Grogan succeeded to the family estates, was

High Sheriff of Wexford The High Sheriff of Wexford was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Wexford, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Irish Free State and replaced by the office of Wexford County Sherif ...

for 1779 and was from 1768 to 1776 M.P. for

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mounta ...

(his father's old seat) in the Irish parliament. He was a popular landlord, but due to failing health, he rarely left home in his last years. He never married. On the outbreak of the

Irish rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...

, Grogan joined the insurgents (whether willingly or under compulsion was later the crucial issue at his trial), and became commissary-general in their army. When Wexford was taken by the government forces Grogan was tried by

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of mem ...

. He pleaded that he had been forced to take a nominal lead, but had been guilty of no overt act of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. His plea was rejected, and he was hanged and

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the au ...

on Wexford bridge on 28 June 1798. Two other landlords of Wexford who had taken the same action as himself, John Henry Colclough and Bagenal Beauchamp Harvey, suffered with him, as well as other rebel leaders. Harvey to the end maintained that Grogan was an innocent man. Their heads were set up on the courthouse, and their bodies flung into the

River Slaney The River Slaney () is a large river in the southeast of Ireland. It rises on Lugnaquilla Mountain in the western Wicklow Mountains and flows west and then south through counties Wicklow, Carlow and Wexford for 117.5 km (73 mi), b ...

, but Grogan's body was recovered by his followers, and secretly buried at Rathaspick, near Johnstown. His estates were escheated by the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, but were restored on the payment of a heavy fine to his youngest and only surviving brother, John Knox. Another brother, Thomas, a lieutenant in the British army, was killed at the

battle of Arklow The second Battle of Arklow took place during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 on 9 June when a force of United Irishmen from Wexford, estimated at 10,000 strong, launched an assault into County Wicklow, on the British-held town of Arklow, in an att ...

on 9 June 1798. A cousin from the

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

branch of the family, Edward Grogan (1802-1891), M.P. for Dublin City from 1841 to 1868, was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 23 April 1859.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grogan, Cornelius 1738 births 1798 deaths People from County Wexford United Irishmen Irish Protestants 18th-century Protestants People executed for treason People executed by the British military by decapitation High Sheriffs of Wexford Executed Irish people People executed by the Kingdom of Great Britain Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wexford constituencies Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776

Biography

See also

References