Cornelius Grogan 1798 memorial at Redmondstown church - geograph

Cornelius Grogan (1738?–1798), was a United Irishman and commissary-general in the insurgent army of

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

in the Rebellion of 1798.

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 town ...

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

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

landlord, was a member of the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

. His mother was the heiress of a well-known Scots family, which produced two

bishops A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy 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 and administration of di ...

of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

. Grogan succeeded to the family estates, was High Sheriff of Wexford for 1779 and was from 1768 to 1776 M.P. for

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountains and Ireland's longest beach, Curracloe. The Plac ...

(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 (; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The m ...

, 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 (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 members of the arme ...

. 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 (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

. His plea was rejected, and he was hanged and

beheaded Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

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), ...

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

escheated Escheat () is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to ...

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, parti ...

, 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 is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

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 1730s 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 people from County Wexford 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