Irish military diaspora

The Irish military diaspora refers to the many people of either Irish birth or extraction (see Irish diaspora) who have served in overseas military forces, regardless of rank, duration of service, or success.

Many overseas military units were primarily made up of Irishmen (or members of the Irish military diaspora) and had the word 'Irish', an Irish place name or an Irish person in the unit's name. 'Irish' named military units took part in numerous conflicts throughout world history. The first military unit of this kind was in the Spanish Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch. A notable example is that of Owen Roe O'Neill.

The Hapsburgs were the principle employers of Irish soldiers in Central Europe. The multinational nature of the empire meant 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. The first Irishman of note to serve the Hapsburgs was Colonel Richard Walsh of Carrickmines Dublin who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Lützen. His son, Oliver became a Major-General. In all eleven members of the family were field marshals or generals the most notable being George Olivier, count of Wallis. Many Irishmen were inhaber and held rank as regimental colonels. Jacob Butler is the first of these. A Walter Butler was an inhaber of a dragoon regiment and received praise for his role in the defence of Frankfurt an der Oder. Butler was responsible for the assassination of the Bohemian general Albercht von Wallenstein who was in the process of defecting to the Swedes. Another Irishman to serve as Field marshal was Francis Taaffe, 3rd Earl of Carlingford. While attending the Jesuit college at Olomouc he came to know Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and this benefited his career greatly. He played a prominent role in saving Vienna in 1683 and in the subsequent conflict with the Turks. He later became a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece and served Charles V as his prime minister. Maximilian Ulysses Browne was of the first generation born in Austria but was from a prominent Limerick family. Through his mother he was descended from the FitzGeralds, Earls of Desmond. Browne was a major-general by the age of 30. He rose to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall and died leading his men into battle during the Battle of Prague. Browne was a kinsman and mentor to Franz Moritz von Lacy (son of Peter Lacy) who rose to be president of the Hofkriegsrat from 1766-74. Other famous Irish-Austrian generals included William O'Kelly from Aughrim in Galway, John Sigismund Maguire of Kerry who captured Dresden in 1758 and successfully defended it against Frederick the Great who mentioned him on a number of occasions, General Karl O'Donnell, was known for his exceptional conduct at the Battle of Torgau while Colonel Hume Caldwell was noted for his conduct at Breslau and Olmütz where he perished. Unusually Caldwell was of Protestant origin with his family coming from Fermanagh. 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. In recognition of this Pope Pius VI made him a prince in 1816. There were no Irish regiments in the Austrian Army with influence confined to nobility serving as officers.

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