'A project so flashy and bizarre' : Irish Volunteers and the Second Schleswig War

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. 84 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’. 85 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 86 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. 87 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’. 88 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): 89 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’. 90 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 .’ 91 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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