Andrew
Newby
Contributions to journals
The Alexandra Cent Gardes was the name given to an Irish volunteer force of one hundred men who, in February 1864, were said to be prepared for battle on behalf of Denmark in the war against Austria and Prussia. The scheme was the brainchild of the eccentric Goodwin Richard Purcell O’Leary (1817–1876), a medical professor at Queen’s College Cork, mainstay of the Cork social scene, grandson of the storied (and lamented) Art O’Leary, and self-proclaimed head of the O’Leary Clan. Reports of the Cent Gardes prompted a mixture of bewilderment, anger and ridicule in Ireland, and despite his precarious military position, Danish King Christian IX ‘politely declined’ the offer of Irish aid. This article outlines the history of the Cent Gardes idea, analyses O’Leary’s varied motivations for raising an armed force for Denmark, and examines the reasons behind the ‘flashy and bizarre’ project’s failure. A minor footnote in the history of the Second Schleswig War, the story of the Alexandra Cent Gardes nevertheless permits an examination of the delicate nature of international diplomacy, and of the complexities of Irish identities, in the nineteenth century.
[...]
In February 1864, Danish newspapers reported the formation in Cork of an Irish volunteer brigade—the Alexandra Cent Gardes—which was being prepared for action in the Schleswig War. This article examines the background and motivations of the project’s leader—Goodwin Purcell O’Leary—as well as the reactions to the plan.
The Alexandra Cent Gardes was the name given to an Irish volunteer force of one hundred men who, in February 1864, were said to be prepared for battle on behalf of Denmark in the war against Austria and Prussia. The scheme was the brainchild of the eccentric Goodwin Richard Purcell O’Leary (1817–1876), a medical professor at Queen’s College Cork, mainstay of the Cork social scene, grandson of the storied (and lamented) Art O’Leary, and self-proclaimed head of the O’Leary Clan. Reports of the Cent Gardes prompted a mixture of bewilderment, anger and ridicule in Ireland, and despite his precarious military position, Danish King Christian IX ‘politely declined’ the offer of Irish aid. This article outlines the history of the Cent Gardes idea, analyses O’Leary’s varied motivations for raising an armed force for Denmark, and examines the reasons behind the ‘flashy and bizarre’ project’s failure. A minor footnote in the history of the Second Schleswig War, the story of the Alexandra Cent Gardes nevertheless permits an examination of the delicate nature of international diplomacy, and of the complexities of Irish identities, in the nineteenth century.
[...]
In February 1864, Danish newspapers reported the formation in Cork of an Irish volunteer brigade—the Alexandra Cent Gardes—which was being prepared for action in the Schleswig War. This article examines the background and motivations of the project’s leader—Goodwin Purcell O’Leary—as well as the reactions to the plan.
