France
The 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles
And
And
Famous Irish Regiments
' The Wild Geese '
" In the creepy cold of night the pitiless wolves came down -
Scotch troops from the Castle grim guarding Knockfergus town:
And they hacked and lashed and hewed, with musket and rope and sword,
Till my murdered kin lay thick in pools by the Slaughter Ford. "
Scotch troops from the Castle grim guarding Knockfergus town:
And they hacked and lashed and hewed, with musket and rope and sword,
Till my murdered kin lay thick in pools by the Slaughter Ford. "
on the whole, has taken her obligations to Ireland lightly enough, and if we would seek a
fitting appreciation of what our poor boys did for her we must turn to a rather unexpected quarter - " a letter to the Right Honourable Sir Robert Sutton, for Disbanding the Irish Regiments in the Service of France and Spain, "
Written by the Whig pamphleteer Forman, from Amsterdam in 1727. He speaks of the Irish regiments " as seasoned to dangers, and so perfected in the art of war, that not only the Sergeants and Corporals, but even the private men can make very good officers. In what part of the army soever they have been placed, they have always met with success, and upon several occasions, won honour, where the French themselves, warlike as they are, have received an affront. To their valour, in a great measure, France owes not only most of what trophies she gained in the late war, but even her own preservation. " He goes on to enumerate the Irish services: the victories won against the Duke of Savoy, the extraordinary affair at Cremona. " They wrested Cremona out of the hands of Eugene, when by surprise, he had made himself master of all the town, except the Irish quarters, and saw the Marshal, Duke de Villeroy, his prisoner, who was taken by Colonel MacDonnell, an Irishman in the Emperor's service. By that action, hardly to be paralleled in history, they saved the whole French Army on that side of the Alps. At Spireback, Major General Nugent's Regiment of Horse, by a brave charge upon regiments of cuirassier's, brought a complete victory to an army upon which Fortune was just turning her back. At Ramillies, the Allies lost but one pair of colour's, which the Royal Irish in the Service of France took from a German regiment. At Toulon Lieutenant-General Dillon, distinguished himself, and chiefly contributed to the preservation of that important place. To the Irish regiments also, under the conduct of that intrepid and experienced officer, Count Medavi himself very generously attributed the victory over the Imperialists in Italy. And the poor Catalans will for ever have reason to remember the name of Mr Dillon, for the great share he had in the famous siege of Barcelona, so fatal to their nation. Sir Andrew Lee, Lieutenat- General, showed likewise how consumate a soldier he was, when he defended Lisle, under the Duc de Boufflers, against those thunderbolts of war, the Prince of Savoy, and the Duke of Marlborough. "
Written by the Whig pamphleteer Forman, from Amsterdam in 1727. He speaks of the Irish regiments " as seasoned to dangers, and so perfected in the art of war, that not only the Sergeants and Corporals, but even the private men can make very good officers. In what part of the army soever they have been placed, they have always met with success, and upon several occasions, won honour, where the French themselves, warlike as they are, have received an affront. To their valour, in a great measure, France owes not only most of what trophies she gained in the late war, but even her own preservation. " He goes on to enumerate the Irish services: the victories won against the Duke of Savoy, the extraordinary affair at Cremona. " They wrested Cremona out of the hands of Eugene, when by surprise, he had made himself master of all the town, except the Irish quarters, and saw the Marshal, Duke de Villeroy, his prisoner, who was taken by Colonel MacDonnell, an Irishman in the Emperor's service. By that action, hardly to be paralleled in history, they saved the whole French Army on that side of the Alps. At Spireback, Major General Nugent's Regiment of Horse, by a brave charge upon regiments of cuirassier's, brought a complete victory to an army upon which Fortune was just turning her back. At Ramillies, the Allies lost but one pair of colour's, which the Royal Irish in the Service of France took from a German regiment. At Toulon Lieutenant-General Dillon, distinguished himself, and chiefly contributed to the preservation of that important place. To the Irish regiments also, under the conduct of that intrepid and experienced officer, Count Medavi himself very generously attributed the victory over the Imperialists in Italy. And the poor Catalans will for ever have reason to remember the name of Mr Dillon, for the great share he had in the famous siege of Barcelona, so fatal to their nation. Sir Andrew Lee, Lieutenat- General, showed likewise how consumate a soldier he was, when he defended Lisle, under the Duc de Boufflers, against those thunderbolts of war, the Prince of Savoy, and the Duke of Marlborough. "
To
the trophies won for France by Irish bravery previous to the date of this letter ( 1727 ) I' Abbe
MacGeoghegan, writing in 1758, has a long list to add: Having enumerated Neerwinden, ( or Landen ), Marsaglia, Barcelona, Cremona, Spires, Castiglione, Almanza, Villa Viciosa as " witness of their ( the Irishmen's ) imortal valour, " he goes on to recall to them the more recent glories of Fontenoy ( 1745 ), that great day for ever memorable in the annals of France. " Let me remind you, " he says to the Irish troops to whom he dedicates his History of Ireland, " of the plains of Fontenoy, so precious to your glory - those plains where, in concert with chosen French troops, the valiant Count of Thomond being at your head you charged with so much valour an enemy so formidable. Animated by the presence of the august sovereign, who rules over you, you contributed with so much success to the gaining of a victory which till then appeared doubtful. Laufeld beheld you, two years afterwards, in concert with one the most illustrious corps of France, force intrenchments which appeared to be impregnable. Menin, Ypres, Tournay saw you crown yourselves with glory under their walls; whilst your countrymen under the standards of Spain performed prodigies of valour at Campo Sancto and at Velletri. But whilst i am addressing you, a part of your corps ( the Regiment of Fitz James ) is flying to the defence of the allies of Louis: another ( Count Lally and his regiment ) is sailing overseas to seek amidst the waves, in another hemisphere, the ' eternal enemies of his empire ' - The British. "
He did not know, the good Abbe, that the service of Count Lally, after unheard of labours, the display of the greatest ardour, disinterestedness, fidelity and preseverence, in the endeavour to establish a French Empire in India, were to be rewarded by an imprisonment of nearly four years in the Bastille - and death, admidst every species of indignity, at the hands of the common executioner! It is hard to imagine how the Irish remained in the French service after this atrocious treatment of this, their countryman to whom France owed amongst other victories, the glory of Fontenoy. The wonder becomes all the greater when we read in the correspondence of many of them which has come down to us, how dissatisfied they were with their treatment and prospects. Nevertheless, the Irish Brigade still remained on until its dissolution by the revolution in 1791.
He did not know, the good Abbe, that the service of Count Lally, after unheard of labours, the display of the greatest ardour, disinterestedness, fidelity and preseverence, in the endeavour to establish a French Empire in India, were to be rewarded by an imprisonment of nearly four years in the Bastille - and death, admidst every species of indignity, at the hands of the common executioner! It is hard to imagine how the Irish remained in the French service after this atrocious treatment of this, their countryman to whom France owed amongst other victories, the glory of Fontenoy. The wonder becomes all the greater when we read in the correspondence of many of them which has come down to us, how dissatisfied they were with their treatment and prospects. Nevertheless, the Irish Brigade still remained on until its dissolution by the revolution in 1791.
The Great Thomas Lally at Pondicherry
In 1792
the Count de Provence ( afterwards Louis XVIII ) presented the remnant of the Brigade
with a farewell banner, bearing the device of an Irish Harp embroided with shamrocks and fleur-de-lis. The gift was accompanied by the following address:-
" Gentlemen, we acknowledge the inappreciable services that
France has received from the Irish Brigade, in the course of the last
Hundred years; services that we shall never forget, though under an
Impossibility of requiting them. Receive this Standard, as a pledge of
Our rememberance, a monument of our admiration, and of our respect,
And in future, generous Irishmen, this shall be the motto of your
Spotless flag:-
1692 - 1792
Semper et ubique Fidelis. "
France has received from the Irish Brigade, in the course of the last
Hundred years; services that we shall never forget, though under an
Impossibility of requiting them. Receive this Standard, as a pledge of
Our rememberance, a monument of our admiration, and of our respect,
And in future, generous Irishmen, this shall be the motto of your
Spotless flag:-
1692 - 1792
Semper et ubique Fidelis. "
Dr. Sigerson has pointed out the very curious effect which close connection with " The Irish Brigade " had on Munster at the time of the ' 98 Rising. " The fact that Munster did not join generally in the Insurrection of 1798 has not been understood by writers. Its quiescence was the result, not of loyalty to the Irish Parliament or Government, then in the hands of the cabal, but to its Jacobite and anti-Jacobin principles. Many families had kinsmen in ' La Brigade Irlandaise ' and were Royalists." This observation is quite just, and explains many things: the fact that Daniel O' Connell's uncle, old ' Hunting Cap ' claimed a reward for conveying to the Government the first news of the appearance of Wolf Tone and the French in Bantry Bay; his nephew, Dan's Whiggery and the deplorable pronouncement of many of the Irish Bishops ( educated in France ) after the failure of the Rising.
The Irish officers who threw in their lot with the Revolution were mostly Connacht, Ulster and Leinstermen. Among whom may be named: General O'Moran, Charles Jennings, afterwards Baron Kilmaine, and the group of Irish officers so often mentioned by Wolfe Tone's memoirs: Madgett, Clarke, and Shea. The name of the officer who was the hero of the following dramatic incident has not come down to us, but his nationality is sufficiently indicated:- A certain Irish Capuchin, Father Donovan of Cork, was a chaplain of a noble French family in Paris when the revolution broke out. His friends fled, and he, as having been concerned with aristocrats, was thrown into prison. One morning after he had spent the night preparing a number of his fellow-prisoners for death, he was suddenly called out with a batch of condemned and trundeled off to the guillotine. Just as he was about to place his foot on the ladder, an officer of the French Guard called out in Irish: " Are there any Gaels among you? ". . . .
The Irish officers who threw in their lot with the Revolution were mostly Connacht, Ulster and Leinstermen. Among whom may be named: General O'Moran, Charles Jennings, afterwards Baron Kilmaine, and the group of Irish officers so often mentioned by Wolfe Tone's memoirs: Madgett, Clarke, and Shea. The name of the officer who was the hero of the following dramatic incident has not come down to us, but his nationality is sufficiently indicated:- A certain Irish Capuchin, Father Donovan of Cork, was a chaplain of a noble French family in Paris when the revolution broke out. His friends fled, and he, as having been concerned with aristocrats, was thrown into prison. One morning after he had spent the night preparing a number of his fellow-prisoners for death, he was suddenly called out with a batch of condemned and trundeled off to the guillotine. Just as he was about to place his foot on the ladder, an officer of the French Guard called out in Irish: " Are there any Gaels among you? ". . . .
