Pikeman’sremains can’tbefound

October 2003

Major plans for the exhumation in Meath and reburial at Oulart Hill of an unknown pikeman from the 1798 Rising have had to be put on hold - because his remains can’t be found.

The Robert Emmet Association said it had no choice but to postpone the reinterral of Féar Píce Gan Ainm (The Pikeman without a Name) after the Co. Meath site that is traditionally associated with his burial was found to contain no remains.

The ceremony, culminating in the laying o rest of Féar Píce Gan Ainm at Tulach a Tsolais monument on Oulart Hill, was billed as the official closure ceremony of commemorations for the Revolutionary Period 1798 to 1803.

The funeral cortege was due to have embarked on its journey on Friday morning.

‘Almost everything had been put in place for the reinterral, but all is now on hold due to delays in actually finding the remains in the spot pinpointed by tradition,’ said the association.

‘However, the search of the site continues under the supervision of Dúchas, The North Eastern Health Board, and Meath County Council. The main difficulty is that it is possible to miss the remains by a matter of just feet, given the nature of oral tradition. A new date for the reinterral will be announced as soon as we are in a position to do so.’

Féar Píce Gan Ainm will eventually be taken from an unmarked grave in Co. Meath to rest in a place of honour on Oulart Hill, where he will represent some 30,000 to 50,000 people who lie in unmarked graves across Ireland from the 1798 period.