Owning a lot of books is great. Packing and moving with a lot of books is not great.

If you'd like to know more, I highly recommend this book, which I was lucky enough to have contributed a chapter to, on the battle's aftermath. The book brings lots of fresh insight into the battle from different disciplines. 7/8 www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2021/v...

On this day in 1798 the United Irishmen of Wexford were decisively defeated at Vinegar Hill by a large government army. A short 🧵on the Donegal Militia in the battle. #18thC #IrishHistory 1/8

Happy #Bloomsday to those who celebrate!

#DIBLives 'He acted from the greatest, the purest motives.' Betrayed by Francis Magan for a £1000 reward, Lord Edward Fitzgerald was shot in the shoulder while being arrested & died of his injuries #OTD 1798. His capture dealt a serious blow to the United Irish leadership. www.dib.ie/biography/fi...

William Burton Conyngham, colonel of the Donegal Militia, died #OTD in 1796. William was a very interesting figure involved in politics, economics, the military & the arts, including a founding member of the @ria.ie #18thC #IrishHistory

The Battle of Tara, fought on this day in 1797. #18thC #skystorians #IrishHistory

On this day in 1455 the War of the Roses began with the First Battle of St Albans. King Henry VI and his army held the town centre, and the Duke of York's army attacked from the east. Fierce fight took place here on Sopwell Lane, the Yorkists attack here led by the Earl of Salisbury. 1/6

Daniel Charles had left the Brigade by this point. He returned to France during the Peace of Amiens but then found himself under house arrest. With the Restoration he was able to retire, with two pensions: as a colonel in the British army & a general in the French army. 7/7

However Protestant opposition to this Catholic brigade meant that the regiments had to serve outside of Britain, Ireland or even Europe. Pitt's Irish Brigade was forced to garrison British possessions in the West Indies and Nova Scotia, and most were lost to tropical disease. 6/7

After the royalist defeats he sailed to London, where he lobbied & was eventually successful in convincing William Pitt to authorise the recreation of the Irish Brigade in British Army, using Franco Irish émigré officers & Irish Catholic rank and file. 5/7 journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Daniel served in Minorca (1781) & saved the life of the Comte d'Artois (future Charles X) at the Siege of Gibraltar in 1782. Initially he tried to ride out the storm of the Revolution & was appointed to brevet general, but he eventually left & joined the Army of the Princes. 4/7

Daniel Charles emigrated & joined the French army in 1761, initially in the Royal Swedish Regiment, then the Irish Brigade, back to the Swedish and finally being appointed to the Salm-Salm German regiment. 3/7

Daniel Charles was uncle to Daniel 'the Liberator' O'Connell and part of the O'Connell clan of Derrynane Co. Kerry who had built their fortune on smuggling to France and Spain in the 18thC. Daniel Charles' brother was Maurice 'Hunting Cap' O'Connell, & clan patriarch. 2/7

Born #OTD in 1745, Comte Daniel Charles O'Connell. A career officer in the Bourbon army who left France during the Revolution, he masterminded the new but ultimately ill-fated Catholic Irish Brigade in the British Army. #18thC #WildGeese #IrishDiaspora 1/7

Fontenoy was the high water mark for the Irish Brigade in the French army, and was evoked many times in later nationalist rhetoric, right up to the early 20thC. It still is to an extent, but has been superceded by later events. My thanks to @ria.ie for helping fund this research. #RIAgrants 6/6

Irish also fought on the Allied side, incl. the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons. Some of the Irish Brigade would end up facing the same regiments (& Cumberland) a year later at Culloden. Lt Col Walter Stapleton, promoted to Brig. General after Fontenoy, would be killed at Culloden. 5/6

The Irish Brigade lost 1/4 of its officers & 1/3 of its men at Fontenoy, one of the bloodiest battles of the decade. The Irish Brigade captured the only Allied colours that day (later burned in Les Invalides by Napoleon's men in 1814 to deny its possession by the Russians). 4/6

Fontenoy was quickly framed as a distinctly French (royal) victory, despite Marshal Maurice de Saxe being the real architect of victory, and Voltaire's poem in praise of the victory ignored the Irish Brigade in favour of French troops. 3/6

The French were in a strong position: the regiments of Lally, Dillon, Roth, Bulkeley, Clare & Berwick (c 3800 men) were on the French left (no. 9), & led an important counterattack when the British column penetrated the French first line. A British victory turned into defeat. 2/6

OTD in 1745 the Irish Brigade led a charge at Fontenoy, helping secure victory for the French over an allied army led by Britain's Duke of Cumberland. Louis XV wrote the next day describing the battle that restored France's military prestige.(📷 NAM London) #WildGeese #18thC #c18th #Jacobite (1/6)

Our illicit whisky still bit is featured at 25mins in to the programme www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Nathaniel Clements, Viscount Clements, born #OTD in 1768. A prominent landowner in Donegal, he succeeded to command the Donegal Militia after the death of its first colonel, William B. Conyngham. Clements was a Whig MP for Carrick & Leitrim in the late 1790s. #MilHist #18thC 1/4

Quick reminder: when someone says, “May the Force be with you,” the Vatican updated the response to be more in line with the OG Latin. Don’t forget to say “and also with your spirit.”

A lovely stroll (and climb) around Bective Abbey this morning.

The Battle of Culloden, fought #OTD in 1746. #WildGeese #skystorians #JacobiteHistory #18thC

As part of the #JacobiteNations workshop this past weekend, we were treated to a special viewing of some of @uoacollections.bsky.social's gorgeous artifacts. Here I'm gingerly holding a pristine scroll butt pistol believed to be owned by Col John Roy Stuart during the '45. #museums #scottishhistory

We have a new episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast out today! I was delighted to be joined by Dr Daniel Curley as we discussed the Uí Chellaig lords of Uí Maine and Tír Maine, and the landscapes of Medieval Gaelic Ireland. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Archaeology 🏺 #IrishHistory #IrishPodcasts

Looking forward to giving this lecture in just over a week's time at Waterford Central Library! Pre booking essential. #skystorians #waterfordhistory #militaryhistory waterfordlibraries.ie/from-waterfo...

Fellowship opportunity in Dublin for early modernists:

The Second Battle of St Albans, fought on this day in 1461. A short battlefield tour.... @stalbansmuseums.bsky.social #WarOfTheRoses

Giant Irish Deer • Megaloceros Giganteus If only santa had a team of these magnificent animals pulling his sleigh! When fully grown, they stood at around 2m at the shoulder and weighed over a tonne. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Irish

Delighted to attend the official launch of my #Medieval Walled Towns of Meath booklet this week. Thanks to everyone at Meath County Council and Abarta Heritage, and to The Heritage Council for their support. PDF can be downloaded via the link below. 1/2 www.meath.ie/council/coun...

TFW your extremely niche area of academic research is in the news! A 🧵 on some aspects of the building formerly known as the Pro-Cathedral (or the Metropolitan chapel as it was called first!) www.rte.ie/news/ireland...

It was great fun to take part in a panel discussion on the Battle of Trafalgar this week, ahead of its 220th anniversary, on Newstalk's Talking History show. I spoke in particular about the impact of the battle on Ireland and the (many) Irish in the Royal Navy. open.spotify.com/episode/6ew8...

To mark the 220th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, J.M.W. Turner’s monumental painting of the conflict will return to public view, following more than a year in storage. www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/eng...

Tickets are now available for ‘Ireland and the American Revolution: 250th Anniversary Perspectives’. The conference will take place @tlrhub.bsky.social on the 9-10 October. For booking and more information use the link below. www.eventbrite.ie/e/ireland-an...

This Fri, 26 Sept: Join @nejohnst.bsky.social, Head of Early Modern Records @nationalarchives.gov.uk.web.brid.gy, for "Ireland 1485–1798: colonial laboratory?" www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/whats-on/eve...

Eighteenth-Century Clickbait...

QUB History Seminar tomorrow at 4pm BST

I was delighted to present at the 35th Irish Conference of Historians @maynoothuniversity.ie @irishhistorians.bsky.social It was a pleasure to be part of a stimulating panel on inner lives in the long eighteenth century, with fascinating insights and discussion from colleagues!

I had a great day today at the 35th Irish Conference of Historians, catching up with old colleagues and meeting new ones too. An incredibly varied programme, everything from Italian futurism to ex-RIC in the Free State. Thanks to all for organising @irishhistorians.bsky.social @maynoothuniversity.ie

Nice to see my guide to the Medieval Walled Towns of Meath feature in the latest edition of the Walled Town Crier, focusing on Trim in particular. #medieval #skystorians irishwalledtownsnetwork.ie/e-zine/

Only two days left to see this fantastic exhibition! Get down to the Solstice Arts Centre in Navan on Friday or Saturday. @railwayarch.bsky.social @irishrail.bsky.social

An exhibition to mark 175 years since the railway came to Navan, Co Meath, will go on public display today.

Only a handful of tickets left for the lecture, make sure to book! #HeritageWeek2025 #skystorians

Preparing for my (& @zwhitehistory.bsky.social, @graemecallister.bsky.social, & friends!) event on 11 Oct 2025 at Apsley House in London where we'll have a #Waterloo display & talk for Black History Month about those African and Afro-Caribbean born soldiers who fought in that great battle #history

Would anyone be interested in doing a #BSECS2026 panel on Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon’ (1975)?