Irish military diaspora
The British colonies of Australia and New Zealand suffered a series of 'war scares' during the 19th century from perceived threats from France and Russia.
The 2nd (Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast) Battalion Group, as the unit was known then, wore the green hackle on the left side of the mounted rifle hat.
In November 1895, a meeting was held in Sydney Town Hall when it was decided to form an Irish Rifle Corps.
Badges of the 8th Union Volunteers Infantry Regiment (Irish Rifles) https://harrowercollection.com.au/33rd-infantry-regiment/ For administrative purposes, two non-Irish companies from the Illawarra district (one at Kogarah and one at Bulli) were attached.
An Irish Volunteer Corps was proposed at a meeting held in the dining rooms of the Shamrock Hotel, in Perth Western Australia on 18 April 1900.
battalion subsequently served in Malaysia as part of the Far East Strategic Reserve from August 1965 to September 1967, and seeing active service in Borneo against the Indonesian army during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation.
The unit conducted operations in East Timor and Iraq, and later lost soldiers killed-in-action during the war in Afghanistan.
The multinational nature of the empire meant that gifted foreigners were always welcome and had opportunities not available in other Eastern and Central European countries.
By one estimation, over 100 Irishmen were field marshals, generals, or admirals in the Austrian Army, with a corresponding number of men holding commissions in the lower ranks.
[5] The first Irishman of note to serve the Habsburgs was Colonel Richard Walsh of Carrickmines, Dublin, who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Lützen.
In all, eleven members of this family were field marshals or generals, the most notable being George Olivier, count of Wallis.
Walter Butler was an Inhaber of a dragoon regiment and received praise for his role in the defence of Frankfurt an der Oder.
Baron Dermot Kavanagh († 1739) of Ballyane, County Wexford, served from his youth in the Imperial Army and took part in campaigns in Hungary, Italy and Flanders.
Other famous Irish-Austrian generals included William O'Kelly from Aughrim in County Galway;[11] John Sigismund Maguire of County Kerry, who captured Dresden in 1758 and successfully defended it against Frederick the Great, who mentioned him on a number of occasions;[12] and General Karl O'Donnell, was known for his exceptional conduct at the Battle of Torgau.
[13] Field Marshal Laval Nugent von Westmeath was prominent during the Napoleonic Wars and was most noted for his role in the capture of Rome in 1815.
By the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, well over one-third of the military forces of the British Army consisted of Irishmen and Anglo-Irish,[17] because of:- Irishmen and Anglo-Irish with notable or outstanding overseas careers included:- Others were not born in Ireland, but were born into Irish families, such as:- Victoria Cross recipients:- The Victoria Cross, the British Crown's highest award for military valour, has been awarded to 188 persons who were born in Ireland or had full Irish parentage.
The colonel had Irish ancestry, but the largest group of its men were recent eastern European immigrants from the fringes of the Austro-Hungarian Empire who spoke Ukrainian but would have had Austrian citizenship.
The Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian, was also governor of Spanish Netherlands and nominated Irish officers to Walloon regiments.
In the Second World War an even smaller number volunteered to join the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany and were trained at Friesack Camp.
The presence and impact of the Irish in Latin America dates back to the time of Spanish rule, when in different historical periods they migrated to the Iberian Peninsula and from there to the American continent, enlisted in the colonization, trade, army and administration companies.
[citation needed] The Irish that went to fight for the Papal States were not professional soldiers but an entirely voluntary force (a few were members of Cork Constabulary[24]) that was raised with a sole purpose, to defend Pope Pius IX.
The war ended shortly after this when the outnumbered and out-equipped Papal army was ordered by Pius to lay down their arms.
Kingdom of Portugal The most recognised and outstanding Irishman to serve in the Russian Army was Peter Lacy from Bruff, County Limerick, who died in 1751 while governor of Livonia.
Another prominent descendant Eduard Alexander Ladislaus Graf (Count) O'Rourke became the bishop of Gdańsk in the inter-war years and died an exile in Rome in 1943.
[29] After this incident Gustavus Adolphus refused to accept any large scale recruitment of Irishmen considering them untrustworthy.
Battle of Rorkes Drift The first major military exodus of Irishmen to Spain happened after the failure of the Second Desmond Rebellion in 1583.
Five other Irish regiments were formed between 1632 and 1646 and were placed under the command of The Earl of Tyrconnell, Owen Roe O'Neill, Thomas Preston, Patrick FitzGerald and John Murphy.
The difficulties that plagued them at home were carried to the continent when O'Donnells refused to serve under O'Neills and tension existed between the Old English and the Old Irish.
In one incident in 1653 during the Siege of Girona (Principality of Catalonia) some of the Irish defenders deserted and joined the French under de Bellefonds.
Notable commanders Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) Irish have been fighting in the United States and British North America all the way back to the mid-1600s mostly in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas.
