A chara, - Patrick Fagan (November 30th) wonders whether or not we have the right place. Yes is the simple answer.
An archaeological search located no remains, but as it was not a dig, this is no guarantee that the remains of the 300 estimated croppies dumped in the Croppies' Hole are not there. Exhaustive work by voluntary and professional bodies identified the site as being that which is marked by granite slabs today. The enlargement of the esplanade and the redirecting of the Liffey in this area has confused the issue somewhat, but the measurements from the boundary walls of Collins Barracks were given by May Donnelly in a letter in the last century, discovered by the National Graves Association. Superimposing these details on the maps of the era, Roche, Scale and Fadden identify the marshy land at the back of a row of houses as the location of the Croppy Hole.
As one of the members of the public behind complaints of neglect of the site I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the OPW and the National 1798 Commemoration Committee on their design and continued work on the new park. - Yours, etc., Aengus O Snodaigh,
PRO, Dublin '98 Commemoration Committee, C/o History Ireland, Dublin 8.