The Battle of Vinegar Hill is the story of botched mini-rebellions, failed escape attempts, mutiny, wild rumours, conspiracies, betrayals, and personal tragedy. In this book, the author reveals the lives of the key rebels and their enemies against a background of Irish politics in the colonial period.

On 21 June 1798, 20,000 men, women and children found themselves trapped on a hill outside Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, facing a Crown force of some 15,000 troops led by no less than four generals and 16 general officers. It was the dying days of a rebellion that had shaken British rule in Ireland to its core. The army that now surrounded the hill was determined that none should escape. Now a multi-disciplinary research programme involving archaeologists, historians, folklorists, architectural historians and military specialists provides startling new insight into what actually happened at Vinegar Hill on that fateful day in June 1798. Using cutting-edge technology and traditional research, the sequence of the battle jumps sharply into focus, beginning with the 'shock-and awe' bombardment at dawn, the attack on Enniscorthy and the hill, and the critical defence of the bridge across the Slaney that allowed so many of the defenders on the hill to escape.

From the New York Times best-selling author of Brooklyn, Colm Tóibín’s first collection of poetry explores sexuality, religion, and belonging through a modern lens Fans of Colm Tóibín’s novels, including The Magician, The Master, and Nora Webster, will relish the opportunity to re-encounter Tóibín in verse. Vinegar Hill explores the liminal space between private experiences and public events as Tóibín examines a wide range of subjects—politics, queer love, reflections on literary and artistic greats, living through COVID, and facing mortality. The poems reflect a life well-traveled and well-lived; from growing up in the town of Enniscorthy, wandering the streets of Dublin, and crossing the bridges of Venice to visiting the White House, readers will travel through familiar locations and new destinations through Tóibín’s unique lens. Within this rich collection of poems written over the course of several decades, shot through with keen observation, emotion, and humor, Tóibín offers us lines and verses to provoke, ponder, and cherish.

The People's Rising is already established as the definitive account of Wexford in 1798. The story of this tragic and heroic episode in Irish history, in which as many as 30,000 people may have died, is told with authority, passion and attention to detail.