Ireland’s Military Exiles - the ‘Wild Geese’ 

 Part 1

The Land of Saints and Scholars … and hard-bitten fighting men!

The term ‘wild geese’ when used in Irish history is usually associated with the 1607 ‘flight of the earls’, which included many leading members of the Ulster aristocracy who were escaping from English oppression in northern Ireland following their defeat by the English at Kinsale in 1601, to join forces with their Catholic allies in Spain; or with the 1653 flight of Irish Confederates to serve in several European armies after military defeat and genocide at the hands of England’s Oliver Cromwell; or with the 1691 exile of the Irish army of Patrick Sarsfield following their transportation from besieged Limerick and Cork to King Louis’ France.

However the incredible story of Ireland’s warrior elite fighting outside of Ireland goes back much further in time – and is of much wider scope on the world stage.

Before the Normans ever invaded England, fleets of Irish ships routinely raided the coasts of England and Wales for plunder … and slaves; one of whom was to later escape from Ireland, and then still later to return as a missionary to convert Ireland to Christianity, and who is now known as Saint Patrick!

England’s Norman King Edward I (‘the hammer of the Scots’) recruited Irish light cavalry (hobblers) to serve in his English Army in France during the ‘100 Years War’ (which actually lasted 116 years, from 1337 to 1453) and also used them to patrol the English border with Scotland. In 1243, the Irish were again fighting for the Normans but this time against their fellow Celts, the Welsh - perhaps in memory of the Welsh mercenaries that had fought at Strongbow's side when he brought his Norman English invaders to Ireland's shore in 1169.

In 1485, Irish warriors fought in England with the Yorkists against the Lancastrians during England’s bloody Wars of the Roses.

When the wars of religion swept through Europe setting Catholic against Protestant, the Irish were to be found fighting for both sides. As early as the 1520's, Irish troops were to be found in the Netherlands. The German artist Durer sketched ‘Galloglas and Kerne’ on the continent in 1521.

The Tudor crown of England gave the Irish grudging respect, acknowledging them as the hardiest and fiercest troops in the known world. For this reason the English commander in the ‘low countries’ (Holland) in 1585 requested Irish Galloglas (heavy infantry) and Irish Kerne (light infantry); these warriors duly arrived in Flanders in 1586.

The Irish served in the English army of the Netherlands as Stanley's Irish Regiment from 1587 till 1596, allied with the Protestant Dutch fighting against the Catholic Spanish. However their colonel, Sir Edward Stanley, who was a devout Catholic, then changed sides and took the Irish to fight for Spain. England's frustration would turn to fury when it was later discovered that Guy Fawkes of Gunpowder Plot fame had been one of Stanley's soldiers. From 1597 till 1604 the regiment was known in the Spanish Army as ‘El Tercio Irlanda’. In 1628 the regiment appears to have disbanded into independent companies. In 1698, Captain John Jordan was commanding a ‘Tyrone company’ of the Spanish forces in Florida.

In 1605, The Spanish raised their own Irish Regiment under Prince Henry O'Neill, son of Hugh O'Neill (‘The O'Neill’ - Chief of the O’Neill clan). This new Irish regiment of Spain was known as ‘Regiment Tyrone’ (named in honour of the O’Neill territorial title, ‘Earl of Tyrone’), and later it achieved fame as ‘Regiment Ultonia’ as part of the famous Irish Brigade of the Spanish Army.

On November 1, 1709, Felipe (Philip) V of Spain decided to collect all the Irish units into one brigade. The Ultonia Regiment came under the command of Diarmuid Mac Amhlaoibh (Dermot MacAuliffe) who had distinguished himself in defending Cork City from the invading Protestant forces of William of Orange in 1690.

As well as producing victories in campaigns in Europe, the Irish Brigade of Spain spearheaded the Spanish expansion in the New World bringing Cuba, Louisiana, Texas, California and Mexico under the flag of their adopted country.

The ‘Wild Geese’ of popular myth and legend dreamt of returning to Ireland, where military skills perfected on foreign fields, in the service of Spain (the ‘world super power’ of that time), would then be employed against English occupiers.

‘more on the history of the ‘Wild Geese’ to follow in future issues …