This park in front of Collins Barracks is a memorial to the Croppy Boys of the 1798 rebellion; it is traditionally believed that the men of '98 were buried here after execution.
They have also been immortalised in "The Croppy Boy", a ballad of 1845 which tells an Irish version of that "Great Escape" denouement. It describes a Croppy who stops in a church on his way to the battle of Wexford. When he sees a someone in the confessional and he takes his opportunity and kneels for the penitential rite. However, the priest turns out to be a British soldier hiding from the rebels. After the youth completes his confession, the soldier reveals himself, arrests the boy and takes him to be executed.
Thankfully, the park is not as sad as this - it is peaceful and well laid out, with a number of interesting memorials and statues. read more