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The Irish Brigade (, ) was a
brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...
in the
French Royal Army The French Royal Army (french: Armée Royale Française) was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon Dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude ...
composed of Irish exiles, led by Lord Mountcashel. It was formed in May 1690 when five Jacobite regiments were sent from Ireland to France in exchange for a larger force of French infantry who were sent to fight in 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 ...
. The regiments comprising the Irish Brigade retained their special status as foreign units in the French Army until nationalised in 1791.


Formation

When King James II went to Ireland in March 1689, Ireland was ruled by his viceroy
Tyrconnell Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called ''County Tyrconnell''. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, Cou ...
and was held by the
Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...
, which was loyal to King James. There seemed to be no need for the deployment of French troops in Ireland and Louis XIV needed his troops elsewhere during 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 Kingdom of France, France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by t ...
. When the Irish Army showed its weakness by failing to win the
Siege of Derry The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates ...
and losing the minor Battle of Newtownbutler on 31 July 1689,
Lauzun Lauzun (; Languedocien: ''Lausun'') is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. The village of Lauzun is located in the north of Lot et Garonne, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is separated from Périgord (Dordo ...
was sent to Ireland with a French force of 5000 men but Ireland had to send Irish troops to France in exchange. This was the Irish Brigade, formed in May 1690. It consisted of five regiments, comprising together about 5000 men. The regiments were named after their colonels: # Lord Mountcashel, # Butler, # Feilding, # O'Brien, and # Dillon's Regiment, commanded by Arthur Dillon. The French reformed them and disbanded Butler's and Feilding's, incorporating their men into the remaining three regiments, which were: # Mountcashel's # O'Brien's, and #
Dillon Dillon may refer to: People *Dillon (surname) * Dillon (given name) * Dillon (singer) (born 1988), Brazilian singer * Viscount Dillon, a title in the Peerage of Ireland Places Canada *Dillon, Saskatchewan United States *Dillon Beach, Californ ...
's These three regiments formed the first Irish Brigade in France and were known as Lord Mountcashel's Irish Brigade and served the French with distinction 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 Kingdom of France, France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by t ...
(1689–97). Under the terms of the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, which ended the war between King James II and VII and
King William III 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 Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...
in Ireland, a separate force of 12,000 Jacobites of the
Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...
had arrived in France in an event known as 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. 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 (League of Augsburg), Gran ...
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.


Service

With 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 (League of Augsburg), Gran ...
in 1697, King James's army in exile was disbanded, though many of its officers and men were reformed into new regiments. Having been merged into the original Irish Brigade these units served the French well until the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
. Other Irishmen – such as Peter Lacy – proceeded to enter the Austrian service on an individual basis. The Irish Brigade became one of the elite units of the French Army. While increasingly diluted by French and foreign recruits from elsewhere in Europe, its Irish-born officers and men often aspired to return to aid Ireland and regain their ancestral lands, as some did during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. Irish regiments participated in most of the major land battles fought by the French between 1690 and 1789, particularly Steenkirk (1692),
Neerwinden Neerwinden is a village in Belgium in the province of Flemish Brabant, a few miles southeast of Tienen. It is now part of the municipality of Landen. The village gave its name to two great battles. The first battle was fought in 1693 between t ...
(1693), Marsaglia (1693),
Blenheim Blenheim ( ) is the English name of Blindheim, a village in Bavaria, Germany, which was the site of the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Almost all places and other things called Blenheim are named directly or indirectly in honour of the battle. Places ...
(1704), Almansa (1707), Malplaquet (1709), Fontenoy (1745),
Battle of Lauffeld The Battle of Lauffeld, variously known as Lafelt, Laffeld, Lawfeld, Lawfeldt, Maastricht, or Val, took place on 2 July 1747, between Tongeren in modern Belgium, and the Dutch city of Maastricht. Part of the War of the Austrian Succession, a Fr ...
(1747); and Rossbach (1757). Units of the Irish Brigade took part in the rising of 1715 and the rising of 1745. For the latter, a composite battalion of infantry ("Irish Picquets") comprising detachments from each of the regiments of the Irish Brigade, plus one cavalry regiment, Fitzjames' horse, was sent to Scotland and landed with
Richard Warren Richard Warren (c. 1585c.1628) was one of the passengers on the Pilgrim ship '' Mayflower'' and a signer of the Mayflower Compact. Early life Richard Warren married Elizabeth Walker, at Great Amwell, Hertfordshire, on 14 April 1610. Eliza ...
at Stonehaven in October 1745. This trained and disciplined force saw action at the second Battle of Falkirk (where they cemented the victory by driving off the
Hanoverians The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house orig ...
causing the clans to waver) and Culloden, alongside the regiment of Royal Scots ( Royal Ecossais) which had been raised the year before in French service. As serving soldiers of the French King the Irish Picquets were able to formally surrender as a unit after Culloden with a promise of honourable treatment and were not subjected to the reprisals suffered by the Highland clansmen. Many other exiled Jacobites in the French army were captured en route to
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
in late 1745 and early 1746, including Charles Radcliffe, 5th Earl of Derwentwater, a captain in Dillon's regiment who was executed in London in 1746. In the interim, however, the Brigade found itself briefly opposed to its Spanish counterpart in the
War of the Quadruple Alliance The War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720) was caused by Spanish attempts to recover territories in Italy ceded in the 1713 Peace of Utrecht. Largely focused on Sicily, it included minor engagements in North America and Northern Europe as we ...
in 1718–20, as France was allied to the Jacobites' British Hanoverian rivals. As a result, it was Spain who assisted the Highland Jacobites in their rising that ended in the Battle of Glen Shiel in 1719. The 1716 Anglo-French alliance had effectively secured the Hanoverian succession in Ireland and Britain. Despite the alliance France continued to recognize James III as legitimate, and therefore individual Jacobites amongst the Irish regiments in France continued to hope for decades that their cause would eventually succeed. After its early years however the Brigade increasingly became a professional force made up of Irish soldiers who enlisted for reasons of family tradition or in search of opportunities denied them at home, rather than for directly political motives. Irish regiments served in the
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 ...
,
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
, both in Europe and India, and during the
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, though by the 1740s the number of Irishmen serving in the regiments had begun to markedly decline. The five regiments were increased to six during the War of the Austrian Succession, the sixth being Lally's, initially created by the Comte de Lally -Tollendal through drafts from the original five. Each regiment had a strength of one battalion of 685 men and Fitzjames's cavalry regiment counted 240 men. The Brigade played a crucial role at Fontenoy attacking the right flank of the British column suffering 656 casualties and, according to O'Callaghan captured the colours of the Coldstream Guards and fifteen cannon. McGarry, in a recently published book entitled ''Irish Brigades Abroad'', identifies the flag concerned coming from Sempill's Regiment of Foot, the forerunner of the
King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's O ...
. The Irish suffered even higher casualties of around 1400 men, at the
Battle of Lauffeld The Battle of Lauffeld, variously known as Lafelt, Laffeld, Lawfeld, Lawfeldt, Maastricht, or Val, took place on 2 July 1747, between Tongeren in modern Belgium, and the Dutch city of Maastricht. Part of the War of the Austrian Succession, a Fr ...
when they led the assault which drove the British from Lauffeld village and secured victory. During the Seven Years' War the Irish Regiments in French service were: Bulkeley, Clare, Dillon, Rooth, Berwick and Lally as well as one regiment of cavalry (Fitzjames's). From January 1766 the
Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
formally recognised
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
of the Hanoverian dynasty as the lawful monarch of Britain and Ireland, and refused to recognise
Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...
, who was now styled as King Charles III by the Jacobites. The rise of George III also saw the
Tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
come back to power with
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British nobleman who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. He was arguabl ...
forming a ministry – the Tories had previously included high placed, financially powerful Jacobites. There were always a number of English and Scots serving in the Brigade, though their numbers fluctuated markedly over the years. A database being compiled by the Centre for Irish-Scottish Studies at Trinity College suggests that for every ten Irishmen there were on average two Englishmen and one Scot. Walsh's regiment is noted for aiding the American cause in the American Revolution, when a detachment was assigned as
marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...
to
John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
' ship, the ''Bonhomme Richard''. Their involvement and use of the motto " ''Semper et Ubique Fidelis''" may have influenced the subsequent adoption of the motto "''Semper Fidelis''" by the U.S. Marines.


Recruitment

Until the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
the British authorities had turned a blind eye to semi-organised recruitment within Ireland itself for the regiments of the Brigade. As long as the Irish troops were not employed against Britain or its allies, this was seen as a useful way of removing potentially discontented men of military age. In 1729 a confidential treaty between the French and British governments made provision for the engagement of 750 Irish recruits provided that this activity remained unpublicized. After the employment of the Irish Picquets in support of the Jacobite rising in Scotland showed the danger of such a policy, measures were taken to reduce the flow of Irish recruits to French service. Individual recruiters for the Irish Brigade were hanged if caught and during the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
all British subjects in French service were declared traitors by Parliament and liable to execution if taken prisoner. This draconian measure does not however appear to have been implemented, except where individual prisoners of war were identified as having first deserted from the British Army. By the eve of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
in 1789 direct Irish recruitment into the Irish Brigade had diminished to a limited number having the motive and opportunity to make their own way to France. Irishmen serving in the British Army and taken prisoner during the French wars might find themselves being encouraged to literally change their coats and enlist in the Brigade. The shortfall in numbers was made up by the increasing substitution of German, Swiss and other foreigners, plus some Frenchmen. The officers, however, were mainly drawn from Franco-Irish families which might have existed for several generations since their founders had migrated to France. Distinguished military service led to such families being accepted into the French aristocracy while retaining their Irish names and consciousness of origin.


Uniforms and flags

The Irish Brigade wore red coats throughout the eighteenth century with different
facing colour A facing colour is a common tailoring technique for European military uniforms where the visible inside lining of a standard military jacket, coat or tunic is of a different colour to that of the garment itself.René Chartrand, William Younghusb ...
s to distinguish each regiment. It has been suggested that the red coat was an expression of their loyalty to the Stuart claimants to the throne of Britain and Ireland. However, uniforms of this colour were widely worn by foreign regiments in the French service, notably those recruited in Switzerland. The use of
Saint George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross, the Cross of Saint George, is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with the cr ...
on all the Brigade's flags reflected their acceptance of the central importance of James III's claim to the Crown of England. Details of individual regiments were: * Buckeley Infanterie. Red coat, collar and lining, dark green cuffs and waistcoat with white (i.e. pewter) buttons. * Clare Infanterie. Red coat and waistcoat, yellow facings, white buttons. * Dillon Infanterie. Red coat and waistcoat, no collar, black cuffs yellow (i.e. bronze buttons. * Roth Infanterie. Red coat, no collar. Blue cuffs, lining, waistcoat and breeches, yellow buttons. * Berwick Infanterie. Red coat and waistcoat, black collar and cuffs, white lining, double vertical pocket flaps, yellow buttons, six on each pocket flap. * Lally Infanterie. Red coat, bright green collar, cuffs and waistcoat, yellow buttons. The 1791 provisional regulations, on the eve of the disestablishment of the Irish Brigade, gave black facings to all four regiments with only minor distinctions to distinguish each unit. Most of their
Colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
were representative of their British Jacobite origins, with every regimental colour carrying the
cross of St George The Cross of Saint George (russian: Георгиевский крест, Georgiyevskiy krest) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was initially established by Imperial Russia where it was officially known as the Decoration of t ...
and the four crowns of England, Ireland, Scotland and France. Nearly all the regiments' flags carried a crown over an Irish
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...
in the centre, one exception being Roth's regiment of former Foot Guards, whose official title in the 1690s was the King of England's Foot Guards; their flag was a red cross of St George with a crown in the centre surmounted by a crowned lion. They carried the motto
In Hoc Signo Vinces "''In hoc signo vinces''" (, ) is a Latin phrase conventionally translated into English as "In this sign thou shalt conquer". The Latin phrase itself renders, rather loosely, the Greek phrase "", transliterated as "''en toútōi níka''" ( ...
. Another was the Earl of Clancarty's, whose flag became that of the Duke of Berwick's regiment when the latter was founded in 1698 following the abolition and merger of Clancarty's and several other regiments to form Berwick's, later, in 1743, Fitzjames's infantry. A correct representation of the flag carried by Berwick's regiment can be seen by following the link below to the Flags of the French army. Fitzjames's cavalry regiment standard had a French design of a yellow field with a central radiant sun surmounted by a ribbon with the motto: ''Nec Pluribus Impar'', ot Unequal to Many


Language

Some officers of the Irish Brigade are believed to have cried out ''Cuimhnígí ar Luimneach agus ar fheall na Sasanach!'' ("Remember
Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...
and Saxon perfidy") at the
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 ...
in 1745. Modern research by Eoghan Ó hAnnracháin claims that it is very doubtful if the regiments would also have been chanting in Irish, a language unknown to probably a majority of the brigade at the time. Others strongly dispute this, as over the course of 100 years new recruits were brought into the brigade mostly from the Irish-speaking regions of West Munster, the homeland of, among other the O'Connell family. Stephen McGarry also makes the point in his book ''Irish Brigades Abroad'' that Irish was widely spoken in the Irish regiments of France. Daniel Charles O'Connell was the uncle of ''The Liberator''
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...
and was the last Colonel of the French Irish Brigade in 1794 and rose to general rank. The O'Connells were native Irish speakers and members of dispossessed Gaelic Aristocracy. According to official French Army regulations, officers of the Irish Brigade regiments had to be Irish, half of whom had to be born in Ireland and the other half born of Irish descent in France. In practice by the outbreak of the French Revolution most serving officers of the Brigade fell into the second category. Seamus MacManus shows in his book ''The Story of The Irish Race'' (1921):
"In truth, it was not the "Wild Geese" who forgot the tongue of the Gael or let it perish. We are told that the watchwords and the words of command in the "Brigade" were always in Irish and that officers who did not know the language before they entered the service found themselves of necessity compelled to learn it."


End of the Irish Brigade

The Brigade ceased to exist as a separate and distinct entity on 21 July 1791. Along with the other non-Swiss foreign units, the Irish regiments underwent "nationalization" at the orders of the National Assembly. This involved their being assimilated into the regular French Army as line infantry; losing their traditional titles, practices, regulations and uniforms. The initial (early 1791) restructuring of the army had already seen the Dillon Regiment become the ''87e'' Regiment, Berwick the ''88e'', and Walsh the ''92e''. The 92nd Infantry Regiment remains in active service the French Army today, having seen action in the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
, the Franco-Prussian War, and both the World Wars. The members of the Irish Brigade had historically sworn loyalty to the King of France, not to the French people or their new republic of 1792. In 1792 some elements of the Brigade, who had rallied to the émigré Royalist forces, were presented with a "farewell banner" bearing the device of an Irish Harp embroidered with shamrocks and fleurs-de-lis. Of the two senior Dillon officers who remained in the French army,
Theobald Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans. The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Tyb ...
was killed by his soldiers when in retreat in 1792 and
Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
was executed in 1794 during
The Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
.List of officers – search for Dillon
/ref> In 1793 the former
Dillon Regiment Dillon's Regiment ( French: ''Régiment de Dillon'') was first raised in Ireland in 1688 by Theobald, 7th Viscount Dillon, for the Jacobite side in the Williamite War. He was then killed at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. Williamite War Dillon' ...
was split into the 157th and 158th Line regiments. By 1794 some officers felt that France had become too anti-Catholic and republican, and joined a British-organised Catholic Irish Brigade. In 1803, the
Irish Legion The Irish Legion (french: Légion irlandaise) was a light infantry regiment in service of the French Imperial Army established in 1803 for an anticipated invasion of Ireland. It was later expanded to a four battalions and a depot, the legion wo ...
was formed by
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
for Irishmen willing to take part in his planned invasion of Ireland.


Notes


References

* Childs, John. ''The army, James II, and the Glorious Revolution'', Manchester, 1980, , pp. 1–2. * Crowdy, Terry . "French Revolutionary Infantry 1789 – 1802", * Eoghan Ó hAnnracháin, ''Casualties in the Ranks of the Clare Regiment at Fontenoy'', ''Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society'', Number 99, 1994. * Funcken, Lilane et Fred. ''L'Uniforme et les Armes des Soldats de La Guerre en Dentelle'' * Mackinnon, Daniel. ''Origin and services of the Coldstream Guards'', London 1883, Vol.I. * McGarry, Stephen. ''Irish Brigades Abroad: From the Wild Geese to the Napoleonic Wars'', The History Press, 2014. * Moulliard, Lucien, ''The French Army of Louis XIV'', Nafziger Collection, 2004, , p. 64, translated by G.F. Nafziger from the original 1882 French publication. * O'Callaghan, John Cornelius. ''History of the Irish Brigades in the Service of France'', London, 1870. * O Ciardha, Eamonn "''Ireland and the Jacobite Cause, 1685–1766''" (Four Courts, Dublin 2004) pp. 182, 235; * Prebble, John. ''Culloden'', Penguin Books 1978


Literature

Stephen McGarry's ''Irish Brigades Abroad'' (Dublin, 2013 Kindle edition, paperback May 2014) is a new book on the subject and finally updates John Cornelius O'Callaghan's ''History of the Irish Brigades in the Service of France'' (London, 1870). Mark McLaughlin's ''The Wild Geese'', (London, 1980) was published by Osprey as part of their Men-at-Arms series provides an introduction to the subject.


See also

{{Portal, France, War * Flight of the Wild Geese *
Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, ga, Pádraig Sáirseál, circa 1655 to 21 August 1693, was an Irish soldier, and leading figure in the Jacobite army during the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland. Born into a wealthy Catholic famil ...
*
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 ...
*
Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, marquis de MacMahon, duc de Magenta (; 13 June 1808 – 17 October 1893) was a French general and politician, with the distinction of Marshal of France. He served as Chief of State of France from 1873 to 1 ...
*
Garde Écossaise The Scottish Guards () was a bodyguard unit founded in 1418 by the Valois Charles VII of France, to be personal bodyguards to the French monarchy. They were assimilated into the ''Maison du Roi'' and later formed the first company of the '' Gard ...
*
Franco-Irish Ambulance Brigade The Franco-Irish Ambulance Brigade (known in French as the ''Ambulance Irlandais'') was a volunteer medical corps sent from Ireland to assist the French Army in the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War. At the time Ireland was part of the United Kingdo ...


External links


limerick to antwerp irish brigades abroad 1690-1815/

Military History Society of Ireland





Uniforms and Regimental Regalia: The Vinkhuijzen Collection of Military Costume Illustration
Sections on the French army from 1740–1789 show color plates of Irish regiments in French service. Flight of the Wild Geese Irish Jacobites Infantry brigades Brigades of France 18th century in Ireland 18th-century military history of France Military units and formations established in 1690 1690 establishments in Ireland 1690 establishments in France Military units and formations disestablished in 1791 1791 disestablishments in Ireland 1791 disestablishments in France Infantry regiments of the Ancien Régime