Latest / The History of Ireland: Rebellion, Empire, and Independence — Fexingo History / The Defeat of the Irish Brigades at the Battle of Fontenoy
Transcript
- Lucas: So, we've talked a lot about the Wild Geese — the Catholic Irish gentry and soldiers who left after the Treaty of Limerick in 1691. But what happened to them once they reached the continent is a story in itself. Today I want to focus on one of their most famous moments: the Battle of Fontenoy, fought in Belgium in 1745, where the Irish Brigades in French service played a decisive role. Luna: I've heard the name Fontenoy before — wasn't there a famous Irish charge there? Lucas: Exactly. To set the scene: by the mid-18th century, France had several Irish regiments — the most famous being Dillon's, Clare's, and Roth's — recruited from the sons of Irish exiles and later from Irishmen who'd left for economic reasons. They fought for France in the War of the Austrian Succession. In 1745, the French army under Marshal Maurice de Saxe was besieging the town of Tournai, and a combined British, Dutch, and Hanoverian force under the Duke of Cumberland marched to relieve it. The two armies met at Fontenoy, a small village. The battle is famous for the British column that smashed through the French lines — but then the Irish counter-attacked. Luna: So the Irish were fighting on the French side against the British? Lucas: Yes. There's a famous anecdote that as the Irish regiments advanced, the British officers called out in French — mistakenly thinking they were French — and the Irish replied in Irish or English before charging. They inflicted heavy casualties. The charge of the Irish Brigades is often credited with turning the tide. The Duke of Cumberland's column was repulsed, and the French won the battle. For the Irish, it was a moment of bitter pride — they'd beaten the British army, but they were fighting for a foreign king. Luna: It must have been deeply conflicted. I mean, they're Irish, but they're not fighting for Ireland. Lucas: Exactly. And that tension is at the heart of the Wild Geese story. Many of these soldiers saw themselves as continuing the struggle against English rule, but by proxy. There's a famous line attributed to the Irish Brigades at Fontenoy: 'Cuimhnigh ar Luimneach agus ar fheall na Sasanach' — 'Remember Limerick and Saxon perfidy.' Whether they actually shouted that is debated, but it captures the sentiment. The battle became a symbol in Irish nationalist memory — proof that Irish soldiers could defeat the British, even if they had to wear French uniforms. Luna: What happened to the Irish Brigades after Fontenoy? Lucas: They continued to serve France through the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, and even the French Revolution. But by the 1790s, the regiments were disbanded or integrated into the regular French army. The Irish diaspora in France faded, though some families, like the MacMahons, rose high — one became a Marshal of France. But for most, the dream of returning to a free Ireland died on foreign battlefields. Luna: That's so poignant. All that sacrifice and they never got to go home. Lucas: It really is. And you know, speaking of sacrifice, what keeps this podcast going is the support of listeners like you. We don't run ads, and that's a choice — we want these conversations to feel like two friends talking, not a commercial break. If you've been stepping into history with us episode by episode, and you'd like to help keep this going, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small way to say you value this kind of deep-dive, ad-free history. Luna: Yeah, and every bit really does help us keep digging into these stories. Lucas: Absolutely. So back to Fontenoy — one of the fascinating details is that the Irish regiments were commanded by James Fitz-James, the Duke of Berwick, who was actually the illegitimate son of the deposed King James II. So you have an English-born duke leading Irish troops against the British army. It's a tangled web of loyalties. Luna: Wait — Berwick was James II's son? I didn't know that. Lucas: Yes, he was the son of James II and Arabella Churchill, who was the sister of the Duke of Marlborough — the famous British general. So Berwick was literally related to both sides. He became a French general and was a key commander at Fontenoy, though Marshal de Saxe was the overall commander. Berwick's own story is emblematic of the Jacobite diaspora — many Irish and English Catholics who followed James II into exile found themselves fighting for France against their own countrymen. Luna: It must have been incredibly complicated for them emotionally. Lucas: Undoubtedly. And there's a famous poem by Thomas Osborne Davis called 'Fontenoy' that romanticises the charge. It goes: 'Oh, for one hour of the Irish Brigade! / To see them charge again!' That poem became a staple of Irish nationalist rhetoric in the 19th century, linking the battle to the struggle for independence. So Fontenoy isn't just a military engagement — it's a cultural touchstone. Luna: I can see why. It's a story of exile, courage, and bitter irony. Lucas: Exactly. And one more thing: the battle itself is also remembered for the discipline of the British infantry. The Duke of Cumberland's column marched straight into the French lines under heavy fire, and it took the Irish charge to break them. Some historians argue that Fontenoy was a close-run thing — if the Irish hadn't counter-attacked when they did, the British might have won. So the Irish Brigades really did change the course of the battle. Luna: That makes their role even more significant. Do we have any firsthand accounts from Irish soldiers at Fontenoy? Lucas: A few. One of the best is from an officer in Dillon's regiment, who wrote about the confusion of battle and the moment when the British thought the Irish were French allies. He describes how the Irish shouted 'Remember Limerick!' before opening fire. There's also a story that after the battle, the French king Louis XV thanked the Irish regiments personally. But the exact details are hard to verify — a lot of the lore was built up later by Irish nationalists. Luna: Still, even if some of it is legend, it clearly mattered to the Irish identity. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's the thing about history — the stories we tell about events can be as important as what actually happened. Fontenoy became a symbol of Irish martial prowess and the tragedy of exile. It's a reminder that Ireland's history isn't just confined to the island — it's scattered across Europe, in the battlefields where Irish men fought and died for other causes. Luna: I'm glad we're telling that part of the story too. Lucas: Me too. And there's so much more to explore — the Irish in the Spanish army, the Austrian service, the papal troops. But that's for another episode.