Irish of Nantes

The expression ‘’Irish of Nantes’’ denotes a community formed in the 17th century and of great importance in the 18th century. It was originally composed of Jacobite political refugees fleeing the violence of Britain’s revolutions, particularly the Glorious Revolution of 1688. This community eventually extended to the ports of Bordeaux and La Rochelle as well as to the colony of Saint-Domingue.

The refugees were largely aristocrats, no longer able to bear arms or command troops. They threw themselves instead into colonial trade, creating numerous trading companies, among them those leading in the Transatlantic slave trade. They also integrated themselves fully into the city of Nantes, marrying the daughters of the local nobility. In Ireland these refugees in France were known as Wild Geese by their detractors.

Nantes was the foremost port for the Irish trading fleet. Out of sixty Jacobite company headquarters and trading houses in Europe in the mid-18th century, two thirds were based in four ports: 12 in Nantes, 9 in Bordeaux, 8 in Cadiz and a dozen in and Gothenburg (although these were essentially branch offices).

The community also included a large number of priests. Bishop Robert Barry of Cork, Bishop Cornelius O’Keefe of Limerick and Bishop Patrick Comerford of Waterford all lived in Nantes. In 1695, the Bishop of Nantes gave them the use of his residence during the summer, the manoir de la Touche, which was to become a seminary for Irish priests, active until the French Revolution.

Lastly, there were Irish people of more modest rank or means, who generally took on occupations relating to maritime commerce – captains, pilots, coopers and porters.

The standing of the Irish in Nantes grew steadily, if we observe the course of events across three generations. The first generation, of Nicolas Luker, Paul Sarsfield, André Geraldin and Nicolas Lée, emigrated to France in the middle of the 17th century, after the Irish Rebellion of 1641. They were joined later on by other Irish refugees following the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Treaty of Limerick in 1691. This wave of emigres was not confined to Nantes. The historian Gabriel Audisio notes the presence of Irish Catholic soldiers in the armies of the Duke of Savoy and of the Marquis of Pianezza, which took part in the bloody repression of the Waldensians during the Piedmont Easter.

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Wikipedia