The event my Gram and I attended was “Irish College Day” featuring several speakers including former US Ambassador to Ireland, Thomas Foley Dr. It has grown over the years into a larger and more active organization. The organization began with a group of friends, originally from Ireland, who got together in their homes to talk about Irish history and culture.
The organization’s purpose is “ … to enjoy and transmit the Irish experience…” by sponsoring events that reflect Irish culture. The event was sponsored by an organization called the Wild Geese. This fall, I had the great fortune of taking my Grandmother, Margaret Fallon-Sharpe, now 92 years young, to an event at Sacred Heart University in Bridgeport, CT. They never returned to their native land. But the true Flight of the Wild Geese took place in 1607, when the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell set sail from Loch Swilly in Co. The paper work of the ships would list the troops as “Wild Geese,” thus the origin of the name.
These soldiers later became the famous “Irish Brigade of France”.įrench ships which arrived Ireland’s west coast smuggling in brandy and wine would smuggle out recruits for the Irish Brigade. After James’s II defeat by William of Orange, Sarsfield led 11,000 Irish troops to France in 1791. The origin of the term is more accurately associated with Patrick Sarsfield who commanded the Stuart King James II army in the Jacobite Wars against William of Orange. It has been frequently associated with Irish mercenaries who went to Europe in organized units because Ireland had nothing to offer. The term “ Wild Geese” refers to people of Irish descent scattered across the world. Emily Lawless 1902 “With the Wild Geese”
0 kommentar(er)
