Wexford Bridge, which saw the blood of Protestants and Catholics spilled in profusion in 1798, was the scene on Monday evening of an inter-church service in memory of all those who died there.
Churchmen and laity of four denominations shivered in a bitter wind off the River Slaney as the ecumenical message of commemoration and reconciliation was delivered in the open air.
The Catholic and Church of Ireland diocesan bishops joined Presbyterian and Methodist representatives in expressions of repentance and forgiveness for past deeds by the combatants of all sides in the '98 Rebellion.
Some 200 people, including local politicians and civic officials attended the hour-long service close to the spot where first some 100 loyalist prisoners were massacred, and later rebel leaders were executed.
Introducing the service, the Rev Walter Forde, PP, Castlebridge, said the United Irishmen's ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity "are both eminently Christian and undeniably relevant socio-political ideals in contemporary Ireland."
Despite those lofty ideals, 1798 had witnessed some horrific atrocities which had to be acknowledged, he said. Wexford Bridge, recently reconstructed, conveyed a reminder that many bridges needed to be built, reinforced and reopened in our society.
There was a need for all of us to build bridges - not with steel and stone but with patience, understanding, accommodation and a willingness to forget.
Remembering history too much or in the wrong sort of way could rub salt in the wounds of the present, he added. But remembering was important, and we had now moved closer to having a common, shared history, free of the distortions and bitterness of the past.
Bishop Brendan Comiskey, Bishop John Neill, Rev Sam Anketell and Mr Cecil Riddal delivered expressions of repentance on behalf of their churches, and lay members of the four congregations together built a symbolic wooden cross, piece by piece.
Civic officials, including the Mayor of Wexford, Mr Eddie O'Connor and the county manager, Mr Seamus Dooley, gave readings from the gospels. Mr Patrick Comerford of The Irish Times delivered an address which focused on the distortions perpetrated by the early historians from each side of the religious divide on what happened in the '98 Rebellion.