16/05/2026
Today marks the bicentennial of the death of General Joseph Holt — soldier, insurgent, exile, survivor, and one of the last great commanding figures of the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland.
Born in 1756 in the hills of Wicklow, Holt rose from tenant farmer to General in the United Irish movement, leading resistance across the Wicklow Mountains after the collapse of the rebellion. Pursued relentlessly by Crown forces, whilst waging guerilla warfare against the British, he was wounded, betrayed in a breach of treaty, imprisoned, and ultimately transported to New South Wales. He endured hardships that would have broken most men - yet even in exile, Holt remained unbowed.
His life bridged two nations and two histories — Ireland’s struggle for liberty and the harsh realities of early colonial Australia. Though his memoirs were edited to suit ulterior motives by Thomas Crofton Croker of the British Admiralty, the work of Peter O'Shaughnessy, Ruan O'Donnell and others helped to publish the true words of one of the few surviving first-hand accounts from a rebel commander of 1798, and through it, Holt ensured that his true story, at pivotal moments in both Irish and Australian history.
Two hundred years after his death, we remember not merely the rebel, but the man: courageous, complex, fiercely loyal to his people, and determined that the truth of his time would survive.
May his story continue to inspire future generations to value freedom, resilience, and the enduring power of memory.
1798 — 1826
200 Years Remembered.
#1798
