S udia Cel ica Fennica XV (2018), ISSN 1795–097X, © Finnish Socie y o Cel ic S udies
And ew Newby, Tampe e Uni e si y, and ew[email p o ec ed]
S udia Cel ica Fennica XV (2018), 83–101, ISSN 1795-097X, ©Finnish Socie y o Cel ic S udies
“A P ojec So Flashy And Biza e”:
I ish Volun ee s and he Second Schleswig Wa
And ew Newby
Abs ac
The Alexand a Cen Ga des was he name gi en o an I ish olun ee o ce o
one hund ed men who, in Feb ua y 1864, we e said o be p epa ed o ba le on
behal o Denma k in he wa agains Aus ia and P ussia. The scheme was he
b ainchild o he eccen ic Goodwin Richa d Pu cell O’Lea y (1817–1876), a
medical p o esso a Queen’s College Co k, mains ay o he Co k social scene,
g andson o he s o ied (and lamen ed) A O’Lea y, and sel -p oclaimed head o
he O’Lea y Clan. Repo s o he Cen Ga des p omp ed a mix u e o bewilde men ,
ange and idicule in I eland, and despi e his p eca ious mili a y posi ion, Danish
King Ch is ian IX ‘poli ely declined’ he o e o I ish aid. This a icle ou lines he
his o y o he Cen Ga des idea, analyses O’Lea y’s a ied mo i a ions o aising
an a med o ce o Denma k, and examines he easons behind he ‘ lashy and
biza e’ p ojec ’s ailu e. A mino oo no e in he his o y o he Second Schleswig
Wa , he s o y o he Alexand a Cen Ga des ne e heless pe mi s an examina ion
o he delica e na u e o in e na ional diplomacy, and o he complexi ies o I ish
iden i ies, in he nine een h cen u y.
Quo ing he Co k Examine , he Times epo s ha a o al o one hund ed I ish
Gen lemen, as s a ed by an en husias ic admi e o P incess Alexand a, a e
eady o pa icipa e in ou wa agains Ge many, as a dis inc co ps o olun ee
ca al y, unde he names o he ‘Alexand a Cen Ga des’. They a e p epa ed o
equip and suppo hemsel es, bu hey equi e a Danish iga e o be sen o
collec hem and hei ho ses om Co k. Six y- ou men ha e al eady signed up
o he expedi ion. (Faed elande , 15 Feb 1864).
In Feb ua y 1864, Danish newspape s epo ed he o ma ion in Co k o an I ish
olun ee b igade— he Alexand a Cen Ga des—which was being p epa ed o
ac ion in he Schleswig Wa . This a icle examines he backg ound and mo i a ions
o he p ojec ’s leade —Goodwin Pu cell O’Lea y—as well as he eac ions o he
plan.
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And ew Newby
Fo eign Volun ee s in Nine een h-Cen u y Wa s
The 1860s we e a decade o conside able u moil in a ious pa s o he wo ld (and
gi en he p e alence o wa and amine, i is no coincidence ha 1863 saw he
o ma ion o he In e na ional Commi ee o he Red C oss) (Ba ne , 2011, 76–
82). Fo eign olun ee s— ep esen ing a a ie y o mo i a ions—we e a common
ea u e in he a ious wa s being ough a his ime, in Eu ope and, e.g. in he
Ame ican Ci il Wa (Sa lin, 2009; A ielli & B uce, 2013, 1–12). These included
I ishmen igh ing (in ela i ely small numbe s) o he Papal A my (O’Conno ,
2010; Doyle, 2010), and in he Ame ican Ci il Wa (Shiels, 2013); Sco s igh ing
unde Ga ibaldi (Fy e, 1978); I alians de ending Poland in 1863 (Flo es, 2016);
and olun ee s om No way-Sweden, and Finland, a i ing in Denma k in 1864
o epel he Aus o-P ussian o ces (Juel Hansen, 1957). The symbolic impo ance
o hese in e en ions o en ou weighed he p ac ical help gi en. Fo example,
F ancesco Nullo’s ‘Ga ibaldi Uni ’ in Poland is s ill commemo a ed, al hough
i consis ed o a ound wen y men (Flo es, 2016, 36). The g a e ul memo ies o
ele en o so Finns in he Danish a my in 1864 p o ided a basis o Danish elie
e o s du ing he G ea Finnish Famine o 1868 (Häkkinen & Newby, 2018). I
was in his con ex ha an I ishman o e ed a small o ce o ellow ’gen lemen’ o
King Ch is ian IX in Feb ua y 1864.
The O’Lea y
One B i ish newspape dismissed he I ish olun ee p ojec as ‘ lashy and
biza e’—which in ac is a i ing desc ip ion o he mo emen ’s leade , Goodwin
Richa d Pu cell O’Lea y (1817–1876). O’Lea y was bo n a Kan u k House, in
Coun y Co k, and was sen away o be educa ed in Pa is a he age o i e. He
e u ned o I eland aged hi een, a which poin he en e ed T ini y College Dublin,
g adua ing h ee yea s la e . Subsequen ly, he chose medicine as a p o ession and
ook an MD a he Uni e si y o Edinbu gh, be o e e u ning once mo e o his home
coun y o ake up a p o esso ship in Medicine a Queen’s College, Co k (Lance ,
25 Aug. 1876). He li ed a a ious loca ions in Co k Ci y, including a ownhouse
a Sidney Place, Mon eno e, and la e a Mo ison’s Quay (Hen y & Coughlan,
1863; Wilkie, 1872)1. O’Lea y deligh ed in his posi ion as head o he O’Lea y
clan, he e o e simply being e e ed o as ‘The O’Lea y’ (O’Lea y, 1998)2, and
was as well known o his social li e as his conside able academic achie emen s.
S o ies abounded o his oman ic ad en u es and his skills as a hun sman, as well
1 Re e ences o he a ious Co k Di ec o ies we e o iginally encoun e ed on a blog-pos
abou A O’Lea y. See h ps://musc ai.wo dp ess.com/2016/01/11/a hu -olea y- he-
ou law/ (accessed 3 Ma . 2018).
2 This sel -appoin ed ‘chie ain’ posi ion is open o deba e. Pe e O’Lea y a gues ha i
was a ‘posi ion o which had he no good claim’.
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I ish Volun ee s and he Second Schleswig Wa
as inciden s ha sugges ed eccen ici y, i no men al ins abili y. He was deeply
p oud o his amily his o y—his g and a he A O’Lea y had ough o Ma ia
The esa’s o ces in Aus ia and had been sho dead in 1773, a e being condemned
as an ou law o owning a ho se wo h mo e han £5 (i had been b ough back
om Aus ia, bu i was o bidden unde he Penal Laws o a Ca holic o own
such an expensi e beas ). The lamen Caoineadh Ai Ui Laoghai e, w i en by
A ’s widow, Eibhlín Dhubh ní Chonaill, has been p aised as he ‘g ea es poem
w i en’ in I eland o B i ain in he 1700s (Ti ley, 2000, 73). The O’Lea y’s amily
mo o—Laidi isé lea Righ [‘S ong is he King o he Sea’] was a s ong symbolic
ie o Viking-e a I eland, a ie which Goodwin O’Lea y held e y dea , and which
was ce ainly a pa o his mo i a ion in sugges ing I ish aid o he Danes in 1864.
‘A Roman ic Occu ence’
The chance o igh o Denma k he e o e linked wo s ands o O’Lea y’s
pe sonal he i age— he ‘Viking blood’ and olun ee adi ion o his s o ied
ances o (O’Lea y, 1998). The speci ic desi e o igh o P incess Alexand a
also highligh s his ondness o imp essing ‘young ladies o g ea beau y’. As an
indica ion o O’Lea y’s oman ic impe uosi y, a s o y ci cula ed a ound Co k, and
hen I eland—and e en ually much u he a ield—abou an inciden a a socie y
ball nea Queens own (Co k Cons i u ion, 9 Jan. 1864). Du ing he cou se o he
e ening, O’Lea y (desc ibed only as ‘a gen leman esiding in Co k, o conside able
eminence in he scien i ic wo ld, as well as dis inguished in he hun ing- ield and
in social ci cles’), ell in o con e sa ion wi h a ‘young lady o g ea beau y’. This
i ked wo English o ice s who we e also p esen , who sugges ed o O’Lea y ha
while he migh be an accomplished li , he was less dis inguished in ‘mo e manly
con es s’. The upsho o his—and i is epo ed as being on he ‘bes au ho i y’—
was a £20 wage , in ol ing a hun a Fe moy, whe e O’Lea y ook on (and bea )
he English o ice s while wea ing he woman’s b acele as a good-luck cha m. To
emphasise his ic o y, O’Lea y also made good on a p omise o w i e he lady a
lo e ballad, and ha e i pe o med a a packed Co k Thea e, in on o he en i e
oxhun ing a e ni y o he sou h o I eland in ull hun ing cos ume. ‘This li le bi o
omance…’ w o e he Co k Examine , while also p o iding he ly ics o O’Lea y’s
se enade, ‘is peculia ly e eshing in hese p osaic days’. (Co k Examine , 22
Jan., 12 Feb. 1864; Bell’s Weekly Messenge , 1 Feb. 1864). Meanwhile, O’Lea y’s
oman ic spi i was concoc ing a plan wi h wide in e na ional implica ions.
The Backg ound o he 2nd Schleswig Wa
While his ho seplay was being enac ed in Co k, da k s o m clouds we e ga he ing
o e Schleswig-Hols ein. The Schleswig-Hols ein Ques ion had a long and
complex his o y, and was igni ed in he mid-nine een h cen u y by a a ie y o
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And ew Newby
ex e nal and in e nal ac o s, pa icula ly he success o he Feb ua y Re olu ion
(1848), and he de elopmen o Danish and Ge man na ionalis mo emen s, bo h
o which claimed pa o all o Schleswig-Hols ein as hei ‘na ional’ e i o y
(G i i hs, 2004, 33–7). A h ee-yea wa (1848–51), cos ing nea ly en housand
li es, ended wi h Denma k’s e i o ial in eg i y being gua an eed by he ‘London
P o ocol’ (1852). The ension ba ely elen ed in he ollowing decade, howe e . In
1863, King F ede ick VII p oclaimed ha Schleswig was a pa o Denma k, which
iola ed he 1852 P o ocol and led o demands om P ussia ha F ede ick escind
he claim. The sab e- a ling escala ed, wi h P ussian h ea s o in asion, bu he
Danish Pa liamen ag eed on a join cons i u ion o Schleswig and Denma k in
No embe 1863. F ede ick died, suddenly, on 15 No embe , wi hou ha ing signed
he new cons i u ion. The e o e, only a ew mon hs a e his daugh e Alexand a
became he P incess o Wales, Ch is ian IX acceded o he Danish h one. His i s
ask was he a i ica ion o he ‘No embe Cons i u ion’, which would p o oke
a po en ially de as a ing wa wi h P ussia (Jespe sen, 2004, 22–6; De y, 1979,
239–48). Despi e he legal and his o ical in icacies o he si ua ion, he P ussian
ad ance in o Schleswig and Ju land mean ha ‘mos Englishmen o go abou he
complexi ies… and only saw i as a ba le be ween a weak na ion, Denma k, and
wo g ea powe s’ (Mo is, 1971, 132)3. Va ious B i ish ini ia i es aised unds o
elie e he emba led Danes, and O’Lea y’s Cen Ga des, despi e hei ocus on
mili a y a he han inancial aid, can ce ainly be seen in his con ex .
The Royal Wedding o 1863
The O’Lea y was qui e clea ha his Cen Ga des had a du y o hwa wha he
saw as P ussian agg ession, bu i ex a mo i a ion we e needed o mobilisa ion,
hen i came in he cha isma ic o m o he Danish p incess Alexand a. The Royal
Wedding o Ma ch 1863, which uni ed he B i ish and Danish oyal houses, exposed
a ious in e wo en s ands o iden i y in G ea B i ain and I eland. The ma iage
be ween Alexand a, daugh e o he Danish hei -appa en Ch is ian, and Albe , he
P ince o Wales, p omp ed widesp ead celeb a ions h oughou he islands, and i
has been a gued ha ‘I ish loyal y was no seen as me e sycophancy, bu genuine’
(McCa hy, 2017, 29). As well as demons a ing he complexi y o I ish na ional
iden i y in he mid-nine een h cen u y—highligh ing wha , in he Sco ish con ex ,
has been called ‘Unionis -Na ionalism’— he e we e possibly mo e p agma ic
easons o I ish people welcoming his pa icula union, as bo h na ionalis and
unionis sides hough ha could bene i om Alexand a’s suppo (Mo on, 1999;
3 Wa en B. Mo is, J . also no es ha he Cen Ga des ep esen ed he ‘s onges
exp ession o suppo o he Danes’ among a ious public ini ia i es ha we e
ins iga ed in B i ain and I eland.
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I ish Volun ee s and he Second Schleswig Wa
Jackson, 2012, 137)4. Al hough he dep h and since i y o public eeling in I eland
was igo ously deba ed in he mon hs and yea s a e he wedding, gene ally along
na ionalis / unionis lines (McCa hy, 2017, 23–53), he p oposed I ish isi o
Alexand a and he husband in 1864 p omp ed obsequious e se om Co k, e y
eminiscen o O’Lea y’s lo e poem in Janua y 1864 (including ‘The nobles blood
o E in is he No se d op in he eins… Oh, i ’s cead mille ail e, P incess A oon!’)
(Co k Cons i u ion, 24 Ma . 1864).
This ma iage also ga e ise o a g ea deal o en husiasm o Scandina ia (and
Denma k in pa icula ) in B i ain and I eland, and in he sha ed ‘Viking’ pas o
hose lands (Newby, 2013). The O’Lea y ce ainly ode his wa e o en husiasm,
and ook he oppo uni y o p omo e he Scandina ian he i age o his own amily
line. I he needed any u he con i ma ion o he Viking ogue, hen i had been
p o ided by Al ed Tennyson’s welcome poem o Alexand a—‘Sea King’s
daugh e om o e he sea’—which was widely publicised on he occasion o
he oyal wedding (F eeman’s Jou nal, 13 Ma . 1863; McCa hy, 2017, 40). The
esonance wi h his own amily’s ‘Sea-King’ he i age su ely s eng hened The
O’Lea y’s commi men o he idea o a chi al ous in e en ion on Alexand a’s
behal .
O’Lea y and The Alexand a Cen Ga des
F om i s e y concep ion, hen, he ‘in e es ing mo emen ’ which was said o
be a oo in Co k, aiming o send an a med o ce o Denma k, was su ounded in
oman icism and chi al ous ideals. O’Lea y was no named di ec ly as he ins iga o ,
a leas no ini ially in he I ish sou ces, bu was a he obliquely e e ed o as ‘a
gen leman well known in leading Co k ci cles, om his p o essional abili ies, his
social eminence, and his g ea success on he hun ing ield’, who ‘con empla ed o
o ganise no hing less han a b igade o I ish gen lemen, o ake se ice unde he
King o DENMARK in he p esen wa … ecall[ing] he ancien days o knigh
e an y, om hei oman ic and chi al ous cha ac e ’ (Co k Examine , 2 Feb.
1864).
O’Lea y, appa en ly, was well p epa ed o ac ion. The day a e he hos ili ies
we e o icially decla ed be ween Denma k and Aus ia-P ussia i was epo ed
in Co k ha he had w i en o Ch is ian IX o o e a hund ed ‘I ish gen lemen’,
o ming a co ps o be known as he Alexand a Cen Ga des, in honou o he ‘ u u e
Queen o England’. He had also w i en o he P ince o Wales asking o he B i ish
o gi e o icial sanc ion o he scheme, and concoc ed a uni o m (in he ‘na ional
colou s’) and a mo o—’Righ Agains Migh !’— o his men (Co k Examine , 2
4 Following Mo on, Al in Jackson has a gued ha ‘ ea ed wi h app op ia e cau ion,
he phenomenon o “unionis na ionalis ” is meaning ul o he I ish, and pe haps mo e
meaning ul han has been gene ally unde s ood wi hin I ish his o iog aphy’.

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And ew Newby
Feb. 1864). E en a his ea ly s age, six y- ou men ( he Co k Examine claimed o
ha e an ac ual lis o names, hough i e ained om publishing hem), we e said
o ha e signed up o he jaun , and as all we e o ‘independen means’, he only
demand made o he Danish king was o send a iga e o Queens own in o de
o con ey he gallan I ishmen o he ‘ hea e o wa ’. The depa u e o Denma k
would ea u e a ious elemen s o pomp and ce emony, including a ball a he Co k
A henaeum he p eceding nigh . O’Lea y’s le e o Ch is ian was also ep oduced
in English ansla ion:
SIRE—Sp ung mysel om he ancien Scandina ian Vikings, as my name in
he I ish language a es s, I am pene a ed by he old pa io ic eeling, sha ed
in by so many o he bes blood o I eland, which impels us o de end he
menaced igh s o Denma k. My iends, o he numbe o one hund ed, The
I ish Cen Ga des, place hemsel es a he disposal o you majes y. A co ps o
a hund ed I ish gen lemen moun ed on hei own ho ses and equipped a hei
own expense, p esen s i sel o igh in he cause o you a he o hei u u e
Queen. Should you Majes y condescend o accep hei se ices a hund ed
I ish gen lemen will p esen hemsel es a Copenhagen as olun ee s in he
ba le o ‘Righ agains Migh ’. You majes y will excuse his libe y aken by
a plain indi idual, bu , he olun ee s a e eady, and only awai he signal om
you Majes y o show hei de o ion o he P incess o Wales, and hei ai h in
he jus ice o Denma k’s cause. (Co k Examine , 2 Feb. 1864).
In claiming o be om ‘ he bes blood o I eland’, O’Lea y seemed o be
di e en ia ing himsel and his kin om he majo i y o I ish (ei he Anglo-No man
o ‘pu e’ Cel s, o example), and making his b igade as pala able as possible o a
Eu opean mona ch. Eu ope’s e sion o I eland was o en based on he nega i e
s e eo ypes peddled in he London p ess, and wi h Fenianism beginning o gain
in e na ional no o ie y in he mid-1860s, i was impo an o O’Lea y ha his
gen lemanly c eden ials should be ecognised, as well as his his o ical blood
connec ion o he Danes (McMahon, 2016, 247–285; Pi ock, 1999; Whi e, 2004;
McGa y & McConnel, 2009).
Ini ial Reac ion
Pe haps unsu p isingly, he immedia e eac ion in I eland was mixed, wi h elemen s
(no necessa ily in equal measu e) o ange , inc eduli y, mocke y, and suppo . The
esponse in Co k o he olun ee plan was immedia e, and again i appea s as
hough local eade s would ha e known exac ly who was behind he Cen Ga des,
e en hough O’Lea y had no ye been named in pe son. AJD w o e ha (Co k
Examine , 3 Feb. 1864):
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I ish Volun ee s and he Second Schleswig Wa
The dis inguished and lea ned p omo e o he I ish Cen Ga des, he happy
ic im o Cupid’s da and gallan ollowe o Nim od, shows an example
wo hy o his g ea descen .
O he wise, AJD dec ied he ‘madcap Quixo es’, who isked damaging I eland’s
in e na ional epu a ion by ad e ising a mili a y in e en ion which had li le
chance o being ealised, s ill less o ha ing any bene icial ou come. The ‘useless
bloodshed’ o a Eu opean wa should be he cause o ho o , a he han he
oppo uni y o he would-be knigh s o Co k. AJD conceded, howe e , ha he e
migh be one app op ia e ou le o hei ‘chi al ic endencies’:
Le him who boas s o he pa io ism o an I ishman, he honou o a gen leman,
he chi al y o a knigh , dash o he Polish s uggle and in e pose his swo d
be ween he ha ed Russian knou and he bleeding body o some de o ed Polish
lady. Le I ishmen un u l hei s anda d in he sac ed cause o Libe y— he
cause o God.
AJD’s le e was suppo ed in he nex day’s pape , (Co k Examine , 4 Feb.
1864) by ‘Ci is’, who explained ha he had o iginally p esumed he Cen Ga des
s o y o be a hoax, bu hen ques ioned he objec o hese olun ee s’ suppo . Like
O’Lea y, ‘Ci is’ was keen o e e o medie al his o y, bu ins ead o an imagined
connec ion be ween I eland and Denma k, he s essed a oubled pas . He also
p oposed suppo o he pe secu ed (and Ca holic) Poles, a he han he ‘c uel
Danes’, who ‘i I ecollec igh ly, ha e sacked and bu ned his ci y a leas h ee
o ou imes? Le hose knigh s-e an y gi e up hei amusemen s o one day and
nigh , and ead he Danish in asion o Co k, and hey will blush o ind hemsel es
he laughing s ock o hei ellow-ci izens.’5
In Dublin, he Conse a i e Daily Exp ess published a wi he ing lampoon,
which seemed o mock O’Lea y’s ‘na ional’ aspi a ions and h ow gene al idicule
in he di ec ion o Co k. I also picked up he heme o I ishmen appa en ly aking
up a ms in de ence o a his o ical enemy, again appealing o medie al his o y:
THE King o Denma k need ha e no ea o being wo s ed in he unequal
con lic wi h he haugh y Ge mans. He has iends, i seems, e en in qua e s
whe e he migh leas expec o ind hem. Who would ha e hough ha I ish
sympa hy would be a oused on his behal ? Can we belie e he e idence o ou
senses when we ead in he Co k Examine ha he blood o Muns e is up, and a
b igade o I ish Volun ee s a e p epa ing o o e hei se ices o he Danes? I is
no me e mo al suppo ha hey p opose o gi e, bu hey a e eady o igh . Who
5 The London E ening S anda d (5 Feb. 1864) also no ed he i ony in aiding he o me
oes, saying ha I ish aid ‘would be some e u n o he a e o Tu gesius, he Dane, and
he slaugh e a Clon a o B oda ’s 1000 mail-clad wa io s’.
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And ew Newby
will say hence o h ha he Cel s a e no a ma ial ace? The glo ious adi ion
o he pas a e no o go en; he p aises o Malachi, who won he golden colla ,
and he exploi s o B ian he B a e a e easu ed in impassioned song, bu he
impulsi e chi al y o Co k is supe io o indic i e ecollec ions, and is eady o
make a gene ous e u n o he descendan s o an old oe when i comes o hei
u n o ace a ‘p oud in ade .’ … Whe he i is a eal genuine ad en u e, o a he
a capi al joke, i is wo hy o he e id imagina ion o he Sou h, and, acco ding
o he issue, may add a new chap e o a sensa ion no el, o an e ec i e scene o
he nex ex a aganza. (Dublin Daily Exp ess, 4 Feb. 1864).
Also in Dublin, bu ac oss he poli ical spec um om he Daily Exp ess, he
na ionalis I ishman dismissed O’Lea y as an ‘anonymous luna ic’ and wa ned
he King o Denma k o be su e hese olun ee s we e no pi a es. (I ishman, 6
Feb. 1864). I also sugges ed a aledic o y an hem o he olun ee s’ p oposed
depa u e om Queens own:
When sou he n shoneens ac he lunkey,
And would o Denma k sail away
To s op hem who would be he donkey,
Wha man so base as bid hem s ay.
The e only needs a name o b and hem
To s amp hei name o e e mo e
And his, we kindly, beg o hand hem
And w i e hem down ‘The Co k C acked Co ps’
The No he n Whig, in Bel as , e e ed o he Cen Ga des as ‘ he hal -dozen
blockheads’, dismissing hem as bo ed membe s o he I ish middle-classes looking
o some exci emen , and also ques ioned he idea ha hey ep esen ed ‘I eland’
in any meaning ul way: ‘As o he Dano-I ish Cen -Ga des, hey ep esen he
eelings o he I ish people jus abou as much as Ga ibaldi’s English legions
ep esen ed he ac ua ing mo i es o he English na ion; and bea p obably he
same p opo ion o he numbe s o he coun y…’ (No he n Whig, 30 Ma . 1864)6.
The sa i ical English publica ion Fun—a con empo a y i al o Punch—also
indulged in some hal -hea ed wo dplay (Fun, 2 Ap ., 9 Ap . 1864) while he London
Uni e sal News wen o e en g ea e leng hs o mocke y, p in ing an eigh -s anza
poem in mid-Ap il, using cod-I ish spelling, and ecycling a ious jokes and opes
ha had been used elsewhe e in he p e ious weeks (Co k Examine , 19 Ap . 1864).7
Some elemen s o he London p ess had mo e di ec poli ical conce ns, especially
when he Cen Ga des s ill appea ed o be a iable p ojec . The Daily Teleg aph,
6 See also, Su cli e, 2013.
7 Cia an O’Neill (2014, 55) has ecen ly highligh ed Ke in Shilling on’s ea lie
cha ac e isa ion o Aylwa d as a ‘ eckless ad en u e .’
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I ish Volun ee s and he Second Schleswig Wa
o example, sugges ed pa allels be ween he poli ical ques ions o I eland and
Schleswig-Hols ein. In pa icula , i highligh ed wha i saw as inconsis ency
and hypoc isy in an ‘I ish con ingen ’ seeking o help he Danes (cas he e as he
opp esso s) e ain a union ha was despised by a majo i y in Schleswig-Hols ein
(Co k Examine , 28 Ma . 1864). The London E ening S anda d was aghas ha
I ish oops should be so keen o expend ‘ i e s’ o hei blood in o eign ba les,
a he han as pa o he B i ish Impe ial A my, al hough i ully expec ed he
Danes o a ail hemsel es o he I ish o e a e he hoped- o Swedish mili a y
o ce had ailed o ma e ialise (London E ening S anda d, 5 Feb. 1864).
The mo emen also a ac ed some in e es om I ish me cena ies, despi e
he widesp ead mocke y. An open le e was published om Al ed Aylwa d,
o e ing himsel o se ice in Denma k. A he ime, Aylwa d was aged wen y-
one, jus back om igh ing o Ga ibaldi in I aly, and in he Ame ican Ci il Wa ,
and desc ibed himsel as ‘da k, spa e, wi ey, pa ially inu ed o and ca eless o
he discom o s, p i a ions, and incon eniences inciden al o a campaign.’ He
also claimed ‘some knowledge o mili a y ma e s’, and ha ‘ e e ences will be
p o ided on demand.’ (Co k Examine , 9 Feb. 1864).
As a possible, limi ed, coun e o his nega i i y—al hough he e is a chance
ha his was a disguised sa i e o he whole a ai — he Sou he n Repo e (5 Feb.
1864) published he ‘BATTLE SONG OF THE “CENT GARDES”’, claiming
ha i was w i en by The O’Lea y himsel . The ‘Ba le Song’ is imbued wi h
na ionalis image y, bu also appeals o he oman ic elemen o igh ing on behal
o he P incess, and o imp essing ‘E in’s maidens’. I also makes e e ence o Pan-
Scandina ism, gi ing he imp ession o he wa being a wide s uggle be ween
Scandina ia and he Ge man Con ede a ion—a ba le o wo ‘Pan’ ideologies—
and b ushing o e he absence o o icial Swedish in ol emen on he Danish
ba le ields.
BATTLE SONG OF THE CENT GARDES
Fo Denma k hu ah! The I ish Gua d say.
As hey en u e hei li es o he Danish P incess—
They s and by hei doom— hey shun no he omb,
In he cause o jus when bullies opp ess.
Fo in en o in ield, hey ne e will yield
While in cho us hey sing he wo ds o hei ba d
‘Fo igh agains migh , o ba le and igh .
Is he objec and aim o he I ish Cen Ga des.’
The Sham ock on high, hey’ll conque o die,
As hey pe il hei all in libe y’s cause
Fo he Pan-Scandina es, o igh P ussian kna es,
They seek no ewa d bu hei P ince’s applause.
Fo in en e c.
98
And ew Newby
The O’Lea y died on 9 h July 1876, a he home o his cousin, Goodwin
Pu cell, in Cha leswo h, De byshi e. O’Lea y had been in he English coun yside
hoping o eco e om illness, bu his was no o be, and his emains we e b ough
back o I eland o bu ial—he now lies alongside his illus ious g and a he in
Kilc ea F ia y (Co k Cons i u ion, 13 Jul. 1876; Dublin Weekly Na ion, 5 Aug.
1876). He was emembe ed as ‘an accomplished physician, an admi able linguis ,
an audacious wi , a bli he-some boon companion, and a s enuous s eeple-chase
ide ’, and ep esen a i e o a pa icula kind o I ish gen leman ha was hough
o ha e died ou . ‘He had his aul s’, e lec ed he No he n Whig, bu ‘who has
no ?’ (No he n Whig, 13 Oc . 1876). The Lance , in addi ion o highligh ing his
conside able achie emen s in he ield o medicine, also ecalled O’Lea y’s ‘high
chi al ic eeling…’ (Lance , 25 Aug. 1876), adding ha :
when Aus ia and P ussia uni ed hei o ces o despoil he li le Danish
kingdom, The O’Lea y was he Cen e Ga de Colonel who o e ed o b ing o
he s anda d o he King o Denma k 100 men, moun ed and accou ed a hei
own expense. A e his he was a welcome gues a he cou s o Sweden and
Denma k, and ecei ed he o de o he ‘Danneb og’, which o de he alone in
B i ain possessed, wi h he excep ion o he P ince o Wales.
Conclusion
In a pos sc ip o his epo om he Swedish cou in 1864 (Glasgow Daily
He ald, 22 Oc . 1864), O’Lea y seemed con iden in he long- e m bene i ha his
Alexand a Cen Ga des scheme migh ha e b ough o I eland:
I hough ha as an I ishman you would be pleased o hea ha my wise idea,
deemed by many a home Quixo ic, has been a leas in he No h ecei ed in
i s p ope ligh , and ha ano he I ish name has been added o hose ha ha e
made ou coun y known h oughou Eu ope.
The name o he Alexand a Cen Ga des, o cou se, does no esound h oughou
Eu ope in he wen y- i s cen u y. The e a e no monumen s o The O’Lea y as he e
a e o o eign olun ee s and hei gene als in many di e en pa s o he wo ld.
I seems qui e ce ain ha , i he Co kmen had ac ually a elled o Denma k, and
especially i hey had been p esen in he ba les a Dybbøl o Als in he da kes
days o he wa , hey would ha e been celeb a ed in song, s o y, a and monumen .
The since i y o O’Lea y’s o e o Ch is ian IX canno ealis ically be gauged.
Had O’Lea y simply gone by himsel o Denma k, maybe wi h a hand ul o o he
I ishmen, and ough on his own accoun —jus as Finns, Swedes and No wegians
did in 1864— he e would ha e been li le ha he B i ish could ealis ically
ha e done o p e en him, and his name may ha e ung h ough he ages. The e

99
I ish Volun ee s and he Second Schleswig Wa
was ce ainly an impe uous side o his cha ac e ha would ha e been a home
cha ging ac oss a Danish ba le ield, simul aneously channelling he spi i s o his
g and a he , and his much mo e dis an ‘Viking’ ances o s. By making he p ojec
such a e y public spec acle, he also a guably doomed any chance i migh ac ually
ha e had o succeeding. In claiming ha a la ge and well-o ganised o ce o one
hund ed ca al y (none o whom we e e e named, o he han he leade ) was going
o pa icipa e in a wa agains P ussia, and mo eo e in he name o he P incess o
Wales, O’Lea y e ec i ely o ced he B i ish go e nmen o e o he in e en ion.
Wha O’Lea y’s s o y does p o ide, howe e , is a colou ul example o a
nine een h-cen u y I ishman wi h a hos o o e lapping iden i ies: a p oud I ish
‘gen leman’ eady o spo he ‘na ional colou s’ in o eign ields, and using all
kinds o Cel ic image y in his dogge el poe y; a Co kman who seemed o possess
since e a ec ion and espec o he B i ish oyal amily, appa en ly a na ionalis
bu no a sepa a is , who bo e concen ic I ish and Impe ial iden i ies ligh ly; and
in claiming o be a possesso o I eland’s ‘bes blood’, he p o ides an insigh in o
a Scandina ian elemen o I ish his o y and iden i y ha was o en igno ed o
subsumed in he de elopmen o ‘Cel ic I eland’ as a key componen o na ionalism.
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No köpings Tidninga
100
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