Pitchcapping: Grab And Pull

What happens when simply wearing your hair too short can get you arrested, tortured, and permanently scarred?

In this episode of Torture: A Dark History, Kevin Young and Dan Hourigan travel to Ireland during the Rebellion of 1798 to uncover the horrifying history of pitchcapping, one of the most brutal punishments used against suspected rebels during the conflict.

We start with the United Irishmen, the Protestant Ascendancy, the Irish rebellion against British rule, and the infamous Croppies, before getting into the punishments used to break suspected rebels. Flogging, half hanging, picketing, and other forms of torture were common, but pitchcapping took things to an entirely different level.

We'll explore how the punishment worked, why short hair could make someone a target, and how a simple paper or linen cap filled with boiling pitch could be transformed into a weapon of torture. We'll also examine the infamous account of Anthony Perry, a leader of the Wexford rebels who was captured and subjected to brutal torture before eventually giving his captors information about other United Irishmen.

Then there's Tom the Devil, the terrifying yeoman sergeant who became one of the most notorious names associated with pitchcapping, along with the story behind the infamous image of Captain Richard Swayne and the violence surrounding the village of Prosperous.

And because this is Torture: A Dark History, Kevin and Dan bring their characteristically irreverent sense of humor to one of the most painful and disturbing chapters in Irish history.

If you love pitchcapping, the Irish Rebellion of 1798, Irish history, the United Irishmen, Croppies, British history, historical torture, torture devices, true crime, dark history, rebellion, and macabre history, this episode is going to leave you looking at a bad haircut in a very different way.

Thank you to the Crime Bae podcast for starting off the show.

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The Sassholes Insta!!

https://archive.org/details/memoirsofmilesby01byrniala

https://www.theirishstory.com/2017/10/28/the-1798-rebellion-a-brief-overview/#.Y_1Hf3bMLrc

https://www.historyireland.com/captain-swayne-and-the-battle-of-prosperous-24-may-1798/

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-irishman-s-diary-1.82180