Irish Regiments in England 1688

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Russian James
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Irish Regiments in England 1688

Post by Russian James » Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:28 pm

In an article on the Irish Jacobite Army which I found somewhere on the 'net it mentions two regiments in England in 1688

"Of the six old regiments of foot on the Irish Establishment, the four that were kept in Ireland remained loyal to James II; of the other two sent to England in 1688 one was disbanded and one changed allegiance"

Does anyone have any information on the unit which was disbanded?
wdrenth
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Re: Irish Regiments in England 1688

Post by wdrenth » Fri Jan 24, 2014 5:58 pm

Don't know where you found that information, but it seems a bit incomplete. In late 1688, when it was clear that William III would attempt to invade England, three battalions of foot and a regiment of dragoons were sent from Ireland to England. One of the battalions was taken from the Irish regiment of foot guards, the others were Lord Forbes' and Hamilton's. The regiment of dragoons was that of Butler. There was also an Irish regiment already on the English Establishment, namely that of McElligott. This regiment, though raised in England and stationed somewhere in the south, is usually added to the Irish contingent.

Only Forbes' regiment survived the events of 1688 and early 1689. Other than the other Irish regiments, it contained a high proportion of Protestants. The Protestants from the other regiments were absorbed into this regiment. Later it became the 18th Regiment of Foot, and afterwards the Royal Irish Regiment and was disbanded in the early 1920s.

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Wienand
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