Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, Ireland.
Telephone : 053 9237596 / 7
Email :
info@1798centre.ie
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The
1798 Visitor Experience
The visitor experience starts outside the building by crossing 'the bridge to
democracy'.
On the inside, the exhibition display follows a range of themes.
The
opulence of pre-revolutionary Europe; the spread of revolution;
the Irish context; the United Irishmen;
the chain of
battles
in May and June 1798; Vinegar Hill,
and the aftermath
of the rebellion.
Following this dramatic display, the visitor moves on to view
ghost-like life-size plaster figures which represent the people
of 18th century Ireland. |
The accompanying narration outlines the unfolding awareness of the spread of revolutionary ideas throughout Ireland, putting across
a sense of growing urgency at grassroots level.
A
clever analogy of a game of chess is used to reconstruct the 'deadly game of strategy'. The main figures of the day are
represented as six-foot chessmen laid out on a
chequered floor; the "king" on the Irish side being Wolfe Tone.
This 'deadly game' materialises into strings of battles and leads ultimately to
Vinegar Hill.
The poignancy of war is made apparent to the visitor in a stunning audio visual
presentation which informs that County Wexford
experienced eleven out of twenty-three battles and, in a four
week period, lost 20,000 people from a population of 120,000.
By comparison, the first six years of the French Revolution cost the lives of
25,000 people from a population of thirty million.
The National 1798 Centre, from its lively exhibition to its attractive text panels, is an entertaining display on that period of history.
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NOW OPEN FOR
THE WINTER SEASON
Monday – Friday : 9.30 a.m. – 5.00 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holidays : 12.00 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.
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