While most of the Regular Army was fighting overseas, the coasts of England and Wales were defended by the embodied Militia, but Ireland had no equivalent force.

The new Act was based on existing English precedents, with the men conscripted by ballot to fill county quotas (paid substitutes were permitted) and the officers having to meet certain property qualifications.

[10][11] The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars saw the British and Irish militia embodied for a whole generation, becoming regiments of full-time professional soldiers (though restricted to service in Britain or Ireland respectively), which the regular army increasingly saw as a prime source of recruits.

In November a body of armed insurgents occupied a village close to Kilkenny, and a force consisting of one company of the RLM, a Troop of the 5th Dragoons and one gun was sent against them.

[4][5][14][15] In April 1794 the battalion moved its headquarters (HQ) to Dundalk with detachments at Kingscourt, Carrickmacross and Portadown to assist the civil powers.

The RLM remained at Kilworth for a while to recruit, then when the weather improved it moved to Rathkeale in case the French made an attempt on Limerick.

The RLM was augmented again in July 1797 (when Lord Granard's position as Colonel Commandant was confirmed) and its establishment now totalled 646 all ranks: this was achieved by recruiting for bounty rather than using the ballot.

On 9 April the regiment took part with the rest of the Limerick garrison in a coordinated sweep to disarm the province of Munster, destroying the captured arms.

With Munster disarmed the regiment was moved to County Clare, with HQ at Ennis, and detachments at Clarecastle, Kilrush, Sixmilebridge, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Broadford, Tuamgraney and Tulla.

At first the regiment was little affected, though foraging parties were placed under the command of officers ordered to avoid clashes with the populace, and the Earl of Granard was empowered to try civilians by court martial if necessary.

[5][27][28][29] After the rebellion had been largely put down, an expeditionary force under General Humbert sent by the French Directory to assist the rebels belatedly arrived at Killala on 22 August.

Next day the British commanders began collecting troops to face this new threat: the RLM was ordered to concentrate and then march to Gort, leaving its heavy baggage at Ennis.

Next morning it was ordered by Maj-Gen Hutchinson, commanding at Castlebar, to press on to that town 'with all possible despatch', requisitioning horses, carts and carriages to speed the journey.

[30][31] The Kilkenny Militia had arrived at Castlebar the day before, and with the cadre of the 6th Foot, some of the 6th Dragoon Guards, and detachments from some yeomanry and fencible regiments, Hutchinson had about 1700 men, backed by four 6-pounders and a howitzer of the Royal Irish Artillery (RIA).

However, the force drawn from more than 10 units had no cohesion, the militia were exhausted, and Hutchinson had made the mistake of concentrating within striking distance of the enemy.

There were two routes to Castlebar from the French camp at Ballina: Humbert made a feint along the lower road, which was patrolled, but actually advanced along the other, which was considered impracticable.

The Earl of Granard kept most of the Longfords in hand and with a few of the Kilkennys and fencibles who rallied to them, he managed to retire in reasonable order, firing volleys to cover the retreat of the force.

Threatened with being enveloped, Granard retired to Castlebar Bridge in the town where, with the assistance of a gun manned by the RIA, he managed to hold on for about half an hour.

Granard retired, forming a rearguard for the broken army, which was fleeing across the countryside, giving rise to the battle's nickname, the 'Castlebar Races'.

Granard and the remnants of the RLM reached Tuam the following morning All the army's baggage and cannons in Castlebar, and the regimental paymasters' chests, fell into the hands of the enemy.

Although the rebellion was over, the country was still disturbed, Ennis had to be disarmed and the garrison was constantly ready to march out at short notice in support of the civil powers, escorting prisoners etc.

[29][15][35] With the diminishing threat of invasion after 1799, the strength of the militia could be reduced, and at the beginning of 1800 the surplus men were encouraged to volunteer for regiments of the line, and a large number of the RLM did so.

In July 1801 the threat of invasion had shifted to England, and a number of Irish Militia regiments (including 588 out of the 600 rank and file of the Royal Longfords), volunteered to serve there; however, nothing came of the proposal.

On 12 May the men of the RLM were paid off at Longford (which the Earl of Granard had nominated as the best barracks in which to store the arms), leaving only the permanent staff of 70 non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and drummers under the regimental adjutant.

'Malignant fever' swept through the barracks at Clonmel, putting most of the men in hospital for a period, after which the regiment worked on the defences of the River Shannon.

In the autumn the government made strenuous efforts to get militiamen to transfer to the Regular army, but the authorities complained that few of the Longfords volunteered.

[4][5][11][15][44][45][46] Napoleon escaped from Elba in 1815 and the militia were called out again as the bulk of the regular army crossed to the Continent for the short Waterloo campaign and occupation duties in its aftermath.

Under the Act, Militia units could be embodied by Royal Proclamation for full-time home defence service in three circumstances:[53][54][55] Colonel White, as Lord Lieutenant of Longford, was ordered to procure volunteers to revive his regiment.

There were moves to reform the Auxiliary Forces (Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteers) to take their place in the six Army Corps proposed by the Secretary of State for War, St John Brodrick.

[8][59][58] On the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War the English counties had drawn lots to determine the relative precedence of their militia regiments.