Trust News Issue December 2007
The Military History Society of Ireland Lecture Programme
The Irish Brigades 1685-2006 :
A major new military heritage publication
Launch by the Minister for Defence
The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust Ltd. is proud to announce the publication of a major new addition to the history of Ireland's military heritage. On 24th October 2007, Mr. Willie O'Dea the Minister for Defence launched The Irish Brigades 1685 – 2006 , which was commissioned by The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust Ltd., and authored by Dr. David Murphy. The book has been published by the Four Courts Press, Dublin, and is available at all major book stores in Ireland. Duting his address the Minister stated "I congratulate the Members of the Military Heritage of Ireland Trust for their initiative and vision in commissioning this publication and may I again pay tribute to Dr David Murphy for providing this comprehensive guide. It will be a most valuable asset for researchers, historians and general readers alike".
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Mr. Willie O'Dea, Minister for Defence, with Maj. Gen. P.F. Nowlan, Chairman of the Military Heritage of Ireland Trust Ltd, pictured with author Dr. David Murphy at the launch of The Irish Brigades 1685 – 2006 .
The Author
Dr David Murphy is a graduate of University College Dublin (BA 1992, MLitt 1995) and Trinity College Dublin (PhD 2001). He worked with the Royal Irish Academy's Dictionary of Irish Biography from 1997 to 2005, where he specialised in writing biographies of naval and military figures. In 2004 he was awarded a fellowship to the West Point summer seminar in military history. He currently lectures in Trinity College Dublin and, since 2006, has been involved in defence studies programmes at the Irish Military College. He recently completed a gazetteer of Irish regimental service between 1685 and 2006 for the Military Heritage of Ireland Trust and this was been published this year (2007). His other books include Ireland and the Crimean War (2002), The Arctic Fox: the life of Admiral Sir F.L. McClintock (2004) and Irish regiments in the world wars (2007)
Synopsis
The Irish Brigades, 1685-2006
Commissioned by The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust
and compiled by Dr David Murphy
Between 1685 and 2006, Irish soldiers have served in various armies across the world and they have fought in every major war of this period. The defeat of the Jacobite cause in Ireland forced many Irish soldiers to seek their fortunes abroad in the French, Spanish and Austrian armies and the armies of the Italian states. Irish soldiers fought in the numerous dynastic wars of the eighteenth century including the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14) and the Seven Years War (1756-63).
The large-scale economic migrations of the nineteenth century forced generations of Irishmen abroad and thousands of them later served in armies in North America, Mexico, South America and South Africa, among others. Irish soldiers played a prominent part in the American Civil War in particular, serving both the Union and Confederate causes. It was one of the many tragedies of this war that Irish soldiers opposed each other at several battles including Fredericksburg (1862) and Gettysburg (1863).
Throughout this period, Irish soldiers served in the British army and campaigned across the world in Britain’s imperial wars of empire. The outbreak of war with Revolutionary France in 1793 saw the beginning of a new phase of Irish military activity in the British army as Irish Catholic soldiers were enlisted into a number of new battalions. These battalions would later evolve into regiments such as the Connaught Rangers, Royal Irish Rifles and the Royal Irish Fusiliers. During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars they established a fearsome reputation on the battlefields of Portugal, Spain, France and Flanders.
Irish soldiers also formed a significant contingent in the British army in India and when the regiments of this army were reorganised in the late nineteenth century, some of the regiments that had been founded in India took on Irish titles. These included the Royal Munster Fusiliers and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Both World Wars saw the involvement of large Irish contingents within the British Army and they served on the battlefields of Europe, North Africa and the Far East.
On the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 a new national army was developed, and in modern times Irish servicemen and women continued to serve in far-flung locations but on these later occasions in the service of the United Nations. The modern Irish Defence Forces have established an enviable record in the history of UN peace support operations, including UN approved NATO led missions. Since 1958 Irish soldiers have continuously served on UN missions. Somewhere there is an Irish soldier serving his country on peacekeeping duties every hour of every day from 1958 to present times. The continuing frequent and increasing requests from the international community for Irish soldiers to serve on peace support operations is evidence of the universal appreciation of the quality of this service delivered by Irish soldiers. Such service has included long-term missions such as the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon (1978 to present) and also emergency interventions such as the Congo mission (ONUC) of 1960-4. That service has not been without cost and over 100 Irish soldiers have lost their lives while on peacekeeping missions.
The Irish regiments have been the focus of many individual histories but their service has never been outlined in a single volume as previous histories have tended to focus on Irish soldiers in specific armies. The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust has commissioned this single volume gazetteer to encompass the histories of all Irish regiments, regardless of which country they served. It contains summarised histories of all regiments that were either raised in Ireland or bore a specific Irish title or regimental designation. It details the service of these regiments on various continents and examines their service in Europe, America, Africa, India, the Middle East, the Far East and other locations. In separate sections, the histories of the Irish regiments of the following services are summarised:
- the French service
- the Spanish service
- the service of the Italian states
- the British army (including the East India Company regiments)
- Irish regiments in the Americas, including regiments in Mexico, Brazil and North America.
- “colonial” units raised in South Africa, Australia etc.
It is intended that this gazetteer will complement A Guide to Irish Military Heritage (2004), compiled by Brian Hanley, an earlier project of the Military Heritage Trust of Ireland. The ultimate aim of this gazetteer is to illustrate the importance and diversity of the Irish military tradition over the last three centuries. This is an aspect of Irish history that has often been overlooked but it is increasingly apparent that it was a major factor in the Irish national experience.
The Publisher
The Irish Brigades 1685 – 2006 is published by The Fourcourts Press Ltd., 7 Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland .
Hardback: 352pp ills. 2007 352pp ills. 2007
ISBN: 978-1-84682-080-9
Catalogue Price: €50 Web Price: €45
Email: Information Four Courts Press
Website: www.four-courts-press.ie
The Military History Society of Ireland - Lecture Programme
| Date | Lecture | Lecturer(s) |
| Fri 9th Nov 2007 | The Battle of Wijschaete 7th June 1917 |
Mr Tom Burke |
| Friday 23rd Nov 2007 | The Flight of the Earls and the beginning of the Irish military diaspora | Profr John McGurk |
| Friday 11th Jan 2008 | Michael Collins and the intelligence war | Dr Anne Dolan |
| Friday 8th Feb 2008 | Hell has many different names – the raid on Dieppe August 1942 | Dr Ian Speller |
| Fri 14th March 2008 | W. T. Cosgrave: from Sinn Féin councillor to execution cell in Kilmainham Jail 1916 | Mr Anthony Jordan |
| Fri 11 th April 2008 | English and Scottish officers in Ireland 1688-91 | Prof John Childs |
Military Genealogy Researcher - Mr Richard Moles
The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust Ltd. is pleased to add a link to the website of Mr. Richard Moles, a genealogical researcher with particular interest in researching officers and soldiers of the First World War (particularly Irish Regiments). There has been an upsurge in requests for information from relatives of WWI and WW2 veterans and, because much of the information is only available in archives/libraries in Britain, this new resource will be of assistance to those in need. Mr Moles’ website can be found at:- www.richardmoles.com
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