IRISH BRIGADE 1670-1745

Irish troops had fought for Louis XIV in the 1670s and took part in most of the major conflicts of the time including the Wars of the 1670s, the Nine Years War, the War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession, the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion and in the Americas. Their many battles included Neerwinden, Steenkirke, Blenheim, Oudenarde, Ramillies and Malplaquet; Fontenoy, Culloden and York Town. They served alongside the French Army until the French Revolution. They fought in French service initially under Charles II but then in exile as James II lost his throne. The links between the regiments and the characters that form the core of the story are outlined and discussed and the Irish Brigade went on from becoming just another 'foreign' regiment to an elite formation. Ironically, while supporting the Jacobite cause, their link with the French enemy helped solidify the position of the English crown. They were sent to France under Lord Mountcashel in 1689. With the fall of Limerick in 1691, Patrick Sarsfield led the second 'flight' of 'Wild Geese' to the continent to fight in a war for the French, against the Grand Alliance of Europe, in the vain hope that their loyalty might warrant French support in a return to Ireland under a Stuart king. D. P. Graham explains the origins of the brigade and its regiments, the personalities who led them and formed their reputation, and the circumstances of their final dissolution in the aftermath of the French Revolution. 472pp.