The Battle of Carrickshock took place in Hugginstown, Kilkenny in 1831.

The roots of the Battle of Carrickshock can be traced to the implementation of the iniquitous tithe tax that came into being in the difficult harvest which followed in the immediate aftermath of the Napoleonic wars.

Hardship in the countryside, coupled with the greed of landlords and clergymen led to this spark of revolt in South Kilkenny. As a result of this tithe war, reform of this tax was inevitable.

The tithe was a tax that Catholics had to pay to the Church of Ireland even though they were of a different faith. This was also a separate payment from the rent owed to landlords.

This event was very much borne out of the collision between the policy of the Crown and local emotion. Frustration among the locals was rife, who felt they were the victims of an unjust taxation regime.

The tithe system spoke volumes of the stance adopted by British officialdom in Ireland during the period.

Produced by Tom Manning

First broadcast 14th February 1983

An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries