Fighting Irish get their due
From the time of the Wild Geese* in the 1600’s, a great many Irish emigrants have fought in other nation’s armies.
This week Mayor Bloomberg of New York flew into Ireland to honour the founding of the ‘Fighting 69th’ - a regiment in the US army which was formed from Irish volunteers. In it’s present incarnation, the regiment is a part of the National Guard. It recently saw service in Iraq as part of the global war on terror where it lost 19 soldiers killed and 50 wounded.
*A group of Irish nobles who fled Ireland following the Williamite War when their lands were confiscated and given to English settlers. After that they resolved to fight in any European army which was engaged in a fight against the English Crown.