The Rebellion Centre, where we walked through the museum.
An information station about a fatal battle of the rebellion (on my birthday!)
Their motto for freedom and liberty--born in America, blossomed in France, soon to fall in Ireland.
The museum walks you through the events that eventually led to the rebellion, informing us of all the reasons why the Irish wanted to fight for freedom. The writings of Thomas Paine inspired many Irishmen to fight like the Americans and win their independence from Britain. The museum's actual interpretation and representation of these events was interactive and interesting. I wish I had taken more pictures, but unfortunately the ones above are my only ones. Learning about these events made the next part of our adventure even more interesting.
After leaving the museum, the tour guides led us out into the countryside where we hiked up a long trail to the actual Hill and site of the rebellion where many Irish men and women lost their lives in a struggle for independence.
A beautiful view of the countryside
The endless stretch of County Wexford as seen from the hill
The ruins of the windmill on Vinegar Hill
A close inside look into the windmill.
The battle on Vinegar Hill was a desperate attempt of the Irish to rebel against the British on June 21, 1798. Thousands of British soldiers attacked the camp of Irishmen, and it didn't look good for the rebels. Luckily, General Needham of the British army was late to the battle, so the Irish had a way out. Although they lost many people during the battle, it only encouraged the Irish to continue their fight for independence throughout the next one hundred years. The ruins of the old windmill marks important historical significance for the Irish people because it is where the Irishmen flew their banner during the rebellion (until they were taken over). It still stands today, marking Irish honor and pride in their struggle for independence which they now have today.
The actual architecture of the windmill is difficult to analyze since it is in ruins, but I will try my best. It looks like it is a shell system, made up of stone and bricks built in a cylindar shape. It also seems to be of load-bearing construction because the stones are stacked and piled layer upon layer. Overall it looks like a pretty solid structure, but without a roof it is hard to say what else it was built to look like.
The next stop we made was to Johnstown Castle, also in County Wexford. I have always been a romantic and wished I was a princess since I was a little girl, so seeing this castle was the highlight of my day. For the first minute I just stood in awe of its grand beauty and then began to snap as many pictures as I could.
I was so obssessed with this castle, but it had a lot of great angles. According to my source, (http://www.wexfordweb.com/Johnstown/) it was originally built for the Grogan Morgan family between 1810 and 1855. In 1945, the castle was presented to the Irish Nation (I'm not sure why) but later it was occupied by the Department of Agriculture (who are still there--and have a museum dedicated to the vocation). Daniel Robertson is believed to be the original architect and contributed to the building in the 1830's. From an artistic point of view, I think he did a marvelous job. This structure also seems to me to be a shell system, only built with brick and stone. All of the windows are symmetrical to each other on both sides, and the tensile strength seems level with keystones most likely towards the middle of the structure, and at the top of each column. It's hard to say if the structure is like a barrel vault or groin vault... it may be something entirely different, but there seems to be series of stones built up together that form the exterior of the castle. I think this is a magnificent feat for the year that it was built and the fact that it is still standing is a sign of great workmanship.
Overall, that day was a success for exploring more of Ireland and learning about the complex history of the Irish people.
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