The Clare's Regiment, later known as Clare's Dragoons, was initially named O'Brien's Regiment after its originator
Daniel O'Brien, 3rd Viscount Clare
Daniel O'Brien, 3rd Viscount Clare (died 1691), was with King Charles II in exile during the interregnum. At the Restoration, he obtained the title of Viscount Clare for his grandfather and full restoration of the family's lands. At the G ...
raised a mounted dragoon regiment during the
Jacobite war. When Clare's Dragoons left Limerick with the
Flight of the Wild Geese
The Flight of the Wild Geese was the departure of an Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on 3 October 1691, following the end of the Williamite War in Ireland. ...
they became a regiment of infantry. Clare's Dragoons remained loyal to the dethroned
James II of England
James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...
and fought against the army of
William III of England
William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...
, during the
Williamite War in Ireland
The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...
.
Clare's regiment's fate, the 5th Regiment of Foot
On 1 July 1751 a royal warrant provided that in future regiments would not be known by their colonels' names, but by their "number or rank". Accordingly, Lieutenant-General Irvine's Regiment was redesignated as the
5th Regiment of Foot.
*
List of Regiments of Foot[Royal Warrant 1 July 1751 ''The National Archives, War Office: Entry Books of Warrants, Regulations and Precedents ref: WO 26 21''. reprinted ]
The Irish Brigade
The Irish Brigade was a brigade in the French army composed of Irish exiles. It was formed in May 1690 when five Jacobite regiments were sent from Ireland to France in return for a larger force of French infantry who were sent to fight in the Williamite war in Ireland. The Irish Brigade served as part of the French Army until 1792. These five Jacobite regiments, comprising about 5000 men, were named after their colonels: Lord Mountcashel, Butler, Feilding, O'Brien and Dillon. They were largely inexperienced and the French immediately disbanded Butler's and Feilding's, either incorporating their men into the remaining three regiments or sending them back to Ireland. The remaining three regiments, Mountcashel's, O'Brien's and Dillon's, formed the Irish Brigade which served the French during the remainder of the
Nine Years War
The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...
(1689–97).
The Wild Geese
Under the terms of the
Treaty of Limerick
}), signed on 3 October 1691, ended the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland, a conflict related to the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War. It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commanders of a Frenc ...
signed in October 1691, which ended the war between King James II and VII and King William III in Ireland, a separate force of 12,000 Jacobites arrived in France in an event known as the Flight of the Wild Geese. These were kept separate from the Irish Brigade and were formed into King James's own army in exile, albeit in the pay of France. Lord Dorrington's regiment, later Rooth or Roth, following the
Treaty of Ryswick
The Peace of Ryswick, or Rijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Rijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance, which included England, ...
in 1698, was formed from the former 1st and 2nd battalions James II's Royal Irish Foot Guards formerly on the Irish establishment of Britain.
Irish regiment in French service
![Officer Clare Regiment Musee Armee Inv04379](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Officer_Clare_Regiment_Musee_Armee_Inv04379.jpg)
Le régiment de Clare was a French regiment of the
Ancien Régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for "ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
{{disambig ...
. It first entered service in France when it was shipped to France as part of a troop exchange in April 1690 during the
Jacobite War forming part of
Justin McCarthy, Viscount Mountcashel
Justin McCarthy, 1st Viscount Mountcashel, PC (Ire) ( – 1694), was a Jacobite general in the Williamite War in Ireland and a personal friend of James II. He commanded Irish Army troops during the conflict, enjoying initial success wh ...
's Irish Brigade.
Evolution of the Regiment
* 1696 : Created under
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
with the name of régiment de Clare and known as the
brigade irlandaise.
* 1706 : name changed to régiment O'Brien.
* 1720 : reverts to original name, régiment de Clare.
* 1775 : reformed and incorporated in the
régiment de Berwick.
Note : another regiment, régiment de Bulkeley, briefly took the name of régiment de Clare between 1691 and 1693.
Wars and Battles
![Richardhennessy1724-1800](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Richardhennessy1724-1800.jpg)
.
*
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...
**1745 :
Battle of Fontenoy
The Battle of Fontenoy was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought on 11 May 1745 near Tournai in modern Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Army of roughly the same size, led by th ...
There were two Irish regiments in French service that bore at some time the name of Clare and of O'Brien. The original O'Brien's Regiment was placed on the French establishment in 1689, and after being renamed as Clare's Regiment in 1691 it was renamed again in 1694 as Lee's Regiment.
The second Clare's Regiment which was raised in 1696. This second regiment is the one referred to in the Clare's Dragoons song. This regiment too was briefly named O'Brien's Regiment. In 1775 this second Clare's Regiment was disbanded and its troops incorporated into Berwick's Regiment.
Clare's Dragoons (song)
‘Clare’s Dragoons’ survives today as the regimental march of the 27th Infantry Battalion of the Irish Defence Forces.
:When on Ramillies' bloody field,
:The baffled French were forced to yield,
:The victor Saxon backward reeled
:Before the charge of Clare's Dragoons.
:The Flags we conquered in that fray,
:Look lone in Ypres' choir, they say,
:We'll win them company to-day,
:Or bravely die like Clares Dragoons.
Chorus:
:Viva la for Ireland's wrong!
:Viva la, for Ireland's right!
:Viva la in battle throng,
:For a Spanish steed, and sabre bright!
:The brave old Lord died near the fight,
:But, for each drop he lost that night,
:A Saxon cavalier shall bite
:The dust before Lord Clare's Dragoons,
:For never when our spears were set
:And never, when our sabres met,
:Could we the Saxon soldiers get
:To stand the shock of Clare's Dragoons.
:Viva la, the New Brigade!
:Viva la, the Old One too!
:Viva la, the rose shall fade,
:And the shamrock shine forever new!
:Another Clare is here to lead,
:The worthy son of such a breed;
:The French expect some famous deed,
:When Clare leads on his bold Dragoons.
:Our Colonel comes from Brians race,
:His wounds are in his breast and face,
:The bearna baoghail is still his place,
:The foremost of his bold Dragoons.
:Viva la, the New Brigade!
:Viva la, the Old One too!
:Viva la, the rose shall fade,
:And the shamrock shine forever new!
:There's not a man in squadron here
:Was ever known to flinch or fear;
:Though first in charge and last in rere,
:Have ever been Lord Clare's Dragoons;
:But, see! We'll soon have work to do,
:To shame our boasts, or prove them true,
:For hither comes the English crew,
:To sweep away Lord Clare's Dragoons.
:Viva la for Ireland's wrong!
:Viva la, for Ireland's right!
:Viva la in battle throng,
:For a Spanish steed, and sabre bright!
:Oh! Comrades! Think how Ireland pines,
:Her exiled Lords, her rifled shrines,
:Her dearest hope, the ordered lines,
:And bursting charge of Clare's Dragoons,
:The fling your Green Flag to the sky,
:Be "Limerick!" your battle cry,
:And charge, till blood floats fetlock-high,
:Around the track of Clare's Dragoons!
:Viva la, the New Brigade!
:Viva la, the Old One too!
:Viva la, the rose shall fade,
:And the shamrock shine forever new!
:When, on Ramillies' bloody field,
:The baffled French were forced to yield,
:The victor Saxon backward reeled
:Before the charge of Clare's Dragoons.
:The flags we conquered in that fray,
:Look lone in Ypres' choir, they say,
:We'll win them company today,
:Or bravely die like Clare's Dragoons.
:Viva la, for Ireland's wrong!
:Viva la, for Ireland's right!
:Viva la, in battle throng,
:For a Spanish steed and sabre bright!
:Another Clare is here to lead,
:The worthy son of such a breed
:The French expect some famous deed,
:When Clare leads on his bold dragoons.
:Our colonel comes from Brian's race,
:His wounds are in his breast and face,
:The bearna baoghil is still his place,
:The foremost of his bold dragoon.
:Viva la, the new brigade!
:Viva la, the old one too!
:Viva la, the rose shall fade
:And the shamrock shine forever new!
:Oh! comrades, think how Ireland pines,
:Her exiled lords, her rifled shrines,
:Her dearest hope, the ordered lines,
:And bursting charge of Clare's Dragoons.
:Then fling your green flag to the sky,
:Be "Limerick!" your battle-cry,
:And charge, till blood floats fetlock-high
:Around the track of Clare's Dragoons.
:Viva la, the new brigade!
:Viva la, the old one too!
:Viva la, the rose shall fade
:And the shamrock shine forever new!
Notable people
*
Muircheartach Óg Ó Súilleabháin (c. 1710–1754), soldier and smuggler
References
{{reflist
External links
* Stephen McGarry, ''Irish Brigades Abroad'' (Dublin, 2013).
Régiment irlandais, Régiment de Clare, Régiment O'Brien
Irish regiments in French service
Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
Irish songs