Risteárd Buidhe Kirwan (1708–1779) was an Irish

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

and duellist.

Biography

Kirwan was a son of Patrick Kirwan of Cregg and Mary Martin of Dangan. Both towns are in

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, and his parents were members of the Tribes of Galway. He was an uncle of the scientist

Richard Kirwan Richard Kirwan, LL.D, FRS, FRSE MRIA (1 August 1733 – 22 June 1812) was an Irish geologist and chemist. He was one of the last supporters of the theory of phlogiston. Kirwan was active in the fields of chemistry, meteorology, and geology ...

, and a cousin of Richard Martin MP, founder of the

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the RSPCA, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate i ...

. He travelled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

for his education. He joined

Dillon's 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' ...

of the Irish Brigade. He became famed as a swordsman and duellist, and for his stature, which measured six feet four inches in height. Among his closest acquaintances were Lord Clare and Maurice de Saxe. He participated in 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 th ...

(1745). His became notorious because of his duelling, and was obliged to leave France. He joined the Austrian service. He retired in 1751 and returned to Ireland. He married Maria Birmingham, a relative of

Baron Athenry Baron Athenry is one of the oldest titles in the Peerage of Ireland, but the date of its creation is thoroughly uncertain; each of the first four Berminghams listed below is claimed by some writers to have been Lord Athenry, but the evidence is di ...

, and had issue. He was nicknamed ''Risteárd Buidhe a' chlaidhimh'' (swarthy Richard of the sword) and ''Nineteen-duel Dick''. A watch presented to him by

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

, set with diamonds and pearls, was in the possession of the Kirwan family as of 1949.

References

* ''Biographical Dictionary of Irishmen in France'', Richard Hayes,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, 1949 * http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jmack/kirwan.htm 18th-century Irish people Military personnel from County Galway Irish duellists 1708 births 1779 deaths Irish expatriates in France Irish expatriates in Austria-Hungary Irish soldiers in the French Army Irish soldiers in the Austrian Army {{Ireland-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References