Tag Archives: As I Roved Out

Irish Tommies in British Army finally get the local nod

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“For the Queen and old Ireland”, circa 1900 by Frank T Copnall, depicts the Irish soldier. NAM. 1973-12-55-1

A new museum is to be established to tell the story of Irish soldiers in the British Army down the centuries. The £13.6 million project will be developed across two sites in Northern Ireland, in Belfast and Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. Keep in mind that over 300,000 Irishmen fought with the British Army in the Great War alone, with some 35,000 never coming home.

The planned Belfast Gallery is a new development and is set to open in 2027. The museum will tell the stories of men like Private James Duffy from Gaoth Dobhair in County Donegal who won a Victoria Cross as a stretcher bearer during the First World War.

During the 19th Century around 40 percent of the British Army was made up of soldiers from across the island of Ireland.

The traditional Irish folk song, As I Roved Out, recalls this tradition of service to the Crown.

As it is, the “Micks” of the Irish Guards are set to celebrate their 125th anniversary in just a few days.

Quis Separabit!

The King’s Shilling

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As it is getting to be summer festival time– and the annual hate the lobsterbacks remembrance– this seemed apt.

The King’s Shilling, 1770 (c) “A recruiting party of an officer, sergeant, drummer, and fifer of an infantry regiment in a village street with a fair in the background.”

Oil on canvas, artist unknown, 1770 (c)., on display at the National Army Museum, Soldier Gallery. Accession Number NAM. 1983-10-15-1

As noted by the National Army Museum:

When a man had ‘taken the King’s shilling’ it meant that he had enlisted in the Army. In the eighteenth century, recruiting parties were a common sight in villages and at country fairs. Recruiting officers would persuade men to enlist with misleading tales of the glamour of army life, and the offer of a ‘bounty’. This was a large sum of money, supposedly paid to the new recruit when he enlisted. In fact, most of it disappeared in various ‘deductions’ and the recruit was lucky to see any of it.

Here, the new recruit takes the money or shakes hands to seal the bargain, with the officer. His wife or sweetheart, obviously less naive, is clearly distressed at the prospect of his ‘going for a soldier’.

A deeper dive into the painting:

And with that, Becca Stevens and Chris Thile covering Planxty’s arrangement of “As I Roved Out” seemed likewise appropriate.