My ancestors - Hourigan - Contents

Wiggy Hourigan

Wiggy Hourigan,
Patrick Hourigan, Paddy,
of The Hill, near Murroe, Co.Limerick,
born maybe around 1770.
He was known as "Wiggy". John Hourigan thinks this was because he wore a wig. By the 1790s, wig wearing was becoming a bit old-fashioned.

He fought in the 1798 Rebellion.
He rode from Co.Limerick across southern Ireland to Co.Wexford in early June 1798, to take part in the Wexford Rebellion there.
He fought in the Battle of Vinegar Hill at Enniscorthy, Co.Wexford, on 21 June 1798 (major rebel defeat).
John Hourigan says: "During the Battle of Vinegar Hill his horse got killed. He managed to slay a Hessian Officer and took his horse."
He escaped back to Co.Limerick.

He died without issue before 1818.
He left The Hill to his nephew Pat Hourigan of Annagh.

The Battle of Vinegar Hill on 21 June 1798.
From Maxwell's History of the Irish rebellion in 1798 (1845), a book extremely hostile to the rebels.
See full size. From here.

Stories about the life of Wiggy Hourigan.
From John Hourigan.

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• Wiggy's horse:
  • The skull of the horse that Wiggy got was found when the house at The Hill was rebuilt in the late 19th century. It was reburied under what is now the drawing room.
  • The Hourigan family at The Hill bred horses from Wiggy's horse. The last descendant of it died in 1914. At the end, in a touching tribute, this horse was brought into the house at The Hill to die by the fireside.

• Wiggy's blunderbuss:
  • Wiggy Hourigan's blunderbuss (gun) survived at The Hill into the mid 20th century. John Hourigan says: "The remains of Wiggy's blunderbuss was still around when I was a child." "As a child I well remember playing cowboys and Indians with the remnants of the barrel. My father used to tell me "That's Wiggy's aul blunderbuss"."
  • Sadly nothing survives of the blunderbuss today.

• 1998 anniversary:
  • On the 200th anniversary of the 1798 rebellion, John Hourigan and others rode the route taken by Wiggy Hourigan from Co.Limerick to Co.Wexford in June 1798. John Hourigan and his party left The Hill on 18 June 1998. Arrived in Enniscorthy on 20 June. Joined the Battle of Vinegar Hill commemoration on 21 June.
  • Thousands take part in pageant to honour Vinegar Hill heroes, Irish Independent, 22 June 1998. "One of the most enthusiastic participants in the pageant was horseman John Hourigan of Murroe, Co Limerick, who rode to Vinegar Hill, along the route taken by his ancestor who fought in the the battle 200 years ago."