The United Irishman Rebellion lasted from May to September in 1798. Fighting was particularly acute in many Leinster counties, most notably Wicklow and Wexford. An article in The Observer newspaper outlines that at the Maryborough (modern day name is Port Laoise) Assizes (Court), “the following persons convicted of stealing arms, and similar offenses, were sentenced to suffer death…all of whom were left for execution”. Thirteen men are listed and one of them is a Wm. Buggy. The same article mentioned how numerous men were put to death at Assizes in Carlow and Offaly for being ‘United Irish’.[1]
[1] Author Unknown, State Trials in The Observer, 22 April 1798, p.4; ProQuest Historical Newspapers http://www.proquest.com: accessed 30 September 2011