History of the site
The Brown Clayton Monument possesses both romantic and historic status. It commemorates General Abercromby who died heroically in Egypt during the Napoleonic Wars and is modelled on Pompey’s Pillar near Alexandria (AD296), which the General would have seen during the Egyptian campaign. Pompey’s Pillar was a popular classical landmark of the day, and the Irish version proved equally so upon completion.
Military ritual
Browne Clayton was a distinguished officer in the 12th Light Dragoons, and on his return to Ireland he commissioned the column as a tribute to his commanding officer General Sir Ralph Abercromby. He stipulated details in his will for an indefinite military ritual to be performed at the column. On 21st March every year the French flag was raised at sunrise, then lowered at 10am and replaced by the British flag.
Today the column’s survival resonates more as a beautiful cultural landmark than a memorial to the Empire and an eccentric general.
The restored column is an iconic feature of the local landscape