Franco-Irish military connections

On Sunday 13 November 2016, a memorial to the Irish people who fought for France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), the First World War (1914-19180 and the Second World War (1939-1945), will be inaugurated in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.

Photograph of the France-Irlande Mémorial in Glasnevin Cemetery.

The military links between France and Ireland, which date back to the 16th century, are an important element of the multi-faceted Franco-Irish relationship. Did you know, for example, that an "Irish Legion" was established in Napoleon's army in 1803, or that two hundred and fifty Irishmen traveled to France during the Franco-Prussian War?

The case of the Franco-Irish Ambulance Brigade is very interesting. A volunteer corps of about two hundred and fifty men was established in Dublin in 1870. It was comprised of surgeons, medical students and ambulance drivers. They arrived in France in October 1870 and remained there until February 1871. Read about the Franco-Irish Ambulance Brigade in these short articles - the French edition of the Old Limerick Journal and History Ireland.

If would like to find out more on the subject of Franco-Irish military connections, why not have a look at Franco-Irish Military Connections, 1590-1945, edited by Nathalie Genet-Rouffiac and David Murphy (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2009). It contains fifteen chapters on various episodes including the Wild Geese, Theobald Wolfe Tone and Irish people who fought for the Resistance in France during the Second World War.

Front cover of Franco-Irish Military Connections, 1590-1945. Worldcat entry.