Carrig Graveyard is the final resting place for many who died during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. A commemorative plaque at the entrance pays tribute to those who sacrificed themselves in the name of Irish freedom:
In memory of those, known and unknown, who fought, suffered and lost their lives during the insurrection of 1798, and whose remains lie here in Carrig Graveyard. Their sacrifice must never be forgotten.
The plaque’s inscription concludes with an old Irish saying: “Ar dheis lámh Dé go raibh siad uile,” which means “May they all be at the right hand of God.”
The cemetery is filled with weathered headstones and unmarked plots, making it difficult to discern where one grave ends and another begins.
Mass communal graves were common in centuries past, as many families could not afford designated burial plots. Such burial practices became especially widespread during periods of conflict and social upheaval. During the 1798 Rebellion, thousands of people from County Wexford were killed in battles and skirmishes across the county, accelerating the use of mass graves. In graveyards such as Carrig and the Pauper’s Graveyard in Coolcotts, families who could not afford headstones often used large stones and blocks as markers for their loved ones.
In the years that followed, families also used Carrig Graveyard as a burial place for babies who were stillborn or died shortly after birth. In 1994, the Irish Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (ISANDS) erected a memorial headstone. The headstone reads:
In loving memory of all pre-term, stillborn and babies who died in early infancy delivered in Wexford County Hospital up to 1992, buried here and elsewhere and alive in God’s love. The value of life is not measured by the span of its years.
Map
The map below pinpoints the entrance. Note that the gates are often locked, and visitors may need to climb over the steps on the side of the wall to enter.