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EUROPE IS TODAY remembering one of the most significant events in the recent continent’s history. But even now, European’s are squabbling over what it all means.
Royals, diplomats and about 200,000 spectators today marked the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
To do so, they made their way to the fields surrounding a small town just south of Brussels to the spot where 47,000 people died and Emperor Napoleon’s ill-fated drive was halted.
Ireland is far from isolated from the events with the victorious British, Dutch and Prussian forces being commanded by Dublin-born Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington.
Britain’s Prince Charles is in attendance and called for unity in a “European project” as the UK prepares to vote on EU membership.
Yesterday, he unveiled a memorial at Hougoumont Farm where allied forces fought off repeated French attacks as Napoleon desperately sought to break their lines.
France and Germany sent only ambassadors to a ceremony that attracted kings and dukes from elsewhere in Europe.
This morning in France though, the battle was declared s “posthumous victory for Napoleon” by Le Parisien newspaper.
In Ireland, a remembrance ceremony was held at Glasnevin Cemetery where a number of headstone plaques were unveiled.
During the ceremony, attendants also paid their respects at the graves of a number of Irish officers who fought at Waterloo.
Last night, RTÉ broadcast a special edition of Nationwide that acknowledged the Irish contribution at Waterloo.
The programme showed that about one third of the Allied army at Waterloo was composed of British soldiers, and of the British soldiers, one third of them were Irish.
It also described how the Irish economy boomed during Britian’s involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. Cork, for example was huge logistics hub, navy base and shipment centre for the army.
The programme also looked at why Duke of Wellington, who went on to be the Prime Minister who brought in Catholic Emancipation, is not more favourably thought of in Ireland.
It claims that he never actually said the infamous quote that’s often attribution to him.
“Just because you are born in a stable doesn’t make you a horse,” weren’t his lines at all.
Junior Minister Simon Harris today opened the ’Wellington Exhibition’ in the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre to commemorate the bicentenary of the battle.
A plaque was also unveiled in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham last month to honour Sergeant James Graham described by the Duke of Wellington as ‘The bravest of the brave’ at Hougoumont Farm.
‘European hope’
Waterloo remains a sensitive subject, especially for France which now sees itself as a pillar of the EU alongside Germany, and whose relationship to the diminutive Napoleon remains ambivalent.
“History is behind us,” the French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFMTV.
French President Francois Hollande, he noted, was due to attend a minor World War II today.
As for Napoleon, Le Drian said he recognised his great achievements but also “certain failures, this drive for power and extending borders which was not right.”
Belgium angered France this month by minting a special €2.5 Waterloo coin after France forced it to scrap a two-euro coin saying it would cause an “unfavourable reaction in France”.
The absence of Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel was cause for regret.
“It’s a shame,” Charles Bonaparte, a descendant of Napoleon’s brother Jerome, said Wednesday.
In a symbolic meeting yesterday, Charles Bonaparteshook hands with the current day Duke of Wellington, and Prince Nikolaus Bluecher von Wahlstatt, whose ancestor led the Prussians who saved the day for the allied forces.
The battle was a pivotal moment in European history, when around 93,000 French troops led by Napoleon faced off against 125,000 Allied forces commanded by the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal Bluecher.
Finally defeated by an alliance of monarchies determined to end years of European war following the 1789 French Revolution, Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena in the south Atlantic Ocean, where he died in 1821.
The victors redrew the map of Europe and the continent enjoyed almost a century of relative peace until the carnage of World War I tore it apart again.
- With reporting by © – AFP 2014
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You might want to also mention Napoleon’s fantastic Légion Irlandaise” (Irish Legion). Which was created to be used for the liberation of Ireland.
Sounds like a sauce.
After our ‘liberation’ he would have installed a close relative as our ruler. Make no bones Napolean was as much of an imperialist as any other ruler of the day.
Hard to believe Bonaparte was a friend of Erin. No more than Phillip of Spain or Hitler of Germany. Or Gadaffi of Libya. Simply using us to further their own goals against their enemy (Britain). Mind you any assistance was always welcome.
Meant the Kaiser not that evil dirt.
You mean ‘almost’ fantastic. Because in the end they did sweet Fck all to help the Irish and probably the exact opposite. Fantastic, I don’t think so.
He was always completely opposed to catholic emancipation and only made an about turn at the last minute to try prevent bloodshed. There was a real risk of Ireland descending into chaos, something he had seen during the 1798 rebellion when he was younger. He was an awful husband who consistently demeaned his abandoned wife while he swanned around europe with numerous lovers, only showing her any affection when she was on her deathbed. His children hated him, the only interaction they were allowed when he was in the country was to enter his room in the morning to address him. His redeeming features were his skill as a military strategist and as a leader of men. This was a man who took immense pride in being part of a family that had not intermarried with the irish and had maintained their english purity over 600 years in this country. He would be insulted to be now labelled an irishman. He may not of said the immortal phrase, but he truly believed in its sentiment. Let the english have their hero, i am happier to admire real irishmen like Theobald Wolfe Tone and Robert Emmet.
Such remarks typify those who have been affected by cognitive dissonance and classical conditioning.
Well said brian. Patrick stop being so ashamed of your irishness
The Duke of Wellington was British born in Ireland. Ireland was, whether you like it or not, British. So all this posthumous labelling and claiming people for Our Own is rubbish. There was no great fight to free Caitlin ni hoolahawn from perfidious Albion, that came later with the poets. The call for Irish freedom was led by the British living in Ireland , Tone et al,and was an attempt to free their own class from restrictive export taxation by Westminster. They had no interest in freeing the natives from the oppressor
Actually tones family was of French origin they fled the revolution. Ireland was never british the same way India was never british, it was however under a disgusting violent british occupation. Also Irelands people fought constantly and ceaselessly to expel the murderous exploitative occupation throughout, long before the last the nine years war and after it through multiple uprisings before we even get to Wolf tone so no it was not led by any one group but thankfully we were successful in the end in the war of independence.
“Jezus, would ya c’mere to me you bleeeedin muppet, jus’ cuz some yoke is born in a fcukin’ stable it doesn’t make it a donkey ya bleeeedin dope” – the Duke of Wellingtons actual response to being called Irish.
Apparently he didn’t. Daniel O’Connell is supposed to have said it.
One of the biggests myths is Napoleons Height. He wasn’t diminutive at all.
The Duke of Wellington claimed that being Irish was one if his few “faults”. He may have passed Catholic Emancipation, but that doesn’t mean he was in favour if it. Why celebrate the “Irishness” of a man, who had never perceived himself as Irish?
It must be remembered that history is written by the victor or the oppressor.
This nonsense about Wellington being Irish and not remebered.
Has anybody ever been to Phoenix Park!
Napoleonic France was the most progressive country in the world at the time. The British were still whipping Irish people.
How many of the Irish at Waterloo were starved to death years later or discriminated against for being the wrong religion or race.
Only the Irish media would claim an anti-Irish British imperialist, who incidentally was a poor general – he just outnumbered Napoleon and almost lost, but was saved by the Germans.
(However the French need to get a grip about that coin).
Agree with everything you say but Wellington was not a poor general. He was a brilliant general, never lost a battle. Just look at the Wellington monument and see all the battles he won. Assaye, Torres Vedras and Salamanca were probably his greatest victories.
Nathan Rothschild spread a rumor that the Brits lost that battle. The stock market went into chaos and they made an absolute fortune.
They are still making a fortune and still deceiving the public.
I don’t understand why the French are so ashamed of Napoleon. He was probably the greatest monarch who ever lived and certainly the most enlightened.
If killing off whole generations of young Frenchman, devastating much of the continent and placing your relatives on various European thrones is enlightened, then Napolean wins everytime. The man was a miltary genius, but also a vain butcher who needlessly throw away his men’s lives in the pursuit of glory.
A lot of the comments here have demonstrated a clear lack of knowledge about Napoleans live.
A lot of comments here are ignorant, including yours. I’ll give you the putting his siblings on the thrones of Europe. That was a mistake. But Napoleon was not a blood thirsty butcher. The monarchs of Europe declared war on him unprovoked, repeatedly because they were terrified at the concept of a meritocracy where aristocrats had no rights. Second coalition, third coalition, fourth coalition, five coalition the sixth coalition and of course the seventh coalition were all wars declared unprovoked on Napoleon. He started two wars: the Peninsular war and the Russian war. He started the Peninsular war because he wanted to stop Portugal trading with Britain and he wanted to modernise Spain, to destroy the power of the inquisition. He declared war on Russia because they blatantly broke their promises made at Tilsit and Erfurt to be Napoleon’s ally. They stabbed him in the back. Napoleon was in Vienna twice, Berlin once and half of the other capitals of Europe. He didn’t rape and pillage as the Prussians later would and he didn’t destroy the monarchies of Prussia or Austria like they later did to him. He fought to survive, and he was very good at it. And when he won, he took the spoils as anyone would. But he was not a bloodthirsty butcher. He was beloved by his men and by his people.
He was an abhorrent little dictator who was despised throughout Europe, not least in Spain. The war crimes were atrocious. He sent his army into Russia. They perished. Another little man tried the same thing 150 years later. The weather is Europe’s best friend.
His men may have loved him but most of his men were uneducated deluded peasants who he saw as little more than cannon fodder. The debacle of his Egyptian expedition where he abandoned his men to their deaths at the hands of starvation and butchery by the locals illustrates how highly he regarded his own men.
Tap Solny would make a great history teacher
He is always living in the past !
the Irish were British, but we decided to break away and leave as we’d manage things far better by ourselves.
We were never British the same way the French were never Germans after the invaded and occupied their country and yes they also had soldiers in the German army. The 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French)and Charlemagne Regiment
Don’t be too offended about his comments on his birth place.
After all he called his English army
“The scu+ of the earth”
And that at least was accurate.
He wasn’t f@#$ING Irish. What a bunch of latchers on in the Irish media!
Being a horse would be great craic sure! Don’t get why such a big issue was made out of something he probably didn’t say in the first place.
A movie was made staring Rod Stiger and Christopher Plummer back in the 70s, if anyone likes watching literally tens of thousands of extras and probably the best cavelrly charge (shot from a helicopter) on film, download and watch ( I think it was shot in the old USSR using the Red Army as extras and cost something like 60 million) no CGI here just some of the best battle scenes I have seen!
Hold on who’s Irish now…The Duke of Wellington or Napoleon?
“Ahh the Irish Inniskillings….
I’ve whipped more of them …
I don’t know what they do to the French..
but they frighten me!”
The Duke of Wellington
When people accept that just because people were aristocrats and Protestants doesn’t mean that they weren’t Irish , and that the Anglo-Irish were as much a part of our history as the revolutionary leaders and the ancient monks, then we will have matured as a nation.
@Chris Jones:
Thank you. One half of my family were Protestants, my granny absolutely loved Dublin and saw herself as nothing else but Irish. The Irish are made up of various invaders, guests ect. Irish, English, Norman, Vikings.
Just for the record, an ancestor of mine married the Duke of Wellington’s aunt so it is not true that they didn’t mix. Also when he went to school in France he was registered as Irish and Daniel O’Connell made the ‘stables’ comment at a meeting in Mullaghmast when he was referring to the hostility of Ministers to Ireland, he was making fun of various people when he said ‘The poor old Duke! what shall I say of him, to be sure he was born in Ireland, but being born in a stable does not make a man a horse.’
As usual, the truth about most things lies in between, when people want to believe something they are blind to other arguments.
That thing in the Phoenix Park needs to be Removed.
100% and replaced with a decent memorial to the people who fought for our freedom. Same as the one in trim needs to be knocked down too, too many remnants of our colonial past still present in the country, could do with a clean up for 2016
So we wipe out any monuments to our past pre 1916, is that the idea?
Good luck with that. Its bleedin massive!
Year 0 anyone?
Why doesn’t Ronan hazard a guess as to why Wellington, along with Cromwell, Churchill and Thatcher, are not “thought well of”?
Instead of just copying and pasting articles.
Let it never be said that Ireland is not PC.
Ba cheart an leacht cuimhneacháin i bPáirc an Fhionnuisce a athainmniú go Napoleon nó lucht 1916.
O Swetenham’s one line comment is typical of the standard bar stool response parroted by those who know very little about Irish history. Laughter is the expected response from the equally ignorant listeners.
well I always laugh at you !!! is that the same thing?
You’ve got some gall accusing other people of being ignorant. And I’m not quite sure how you’ve come to the conclusion that I know very little about Irish history based on my light hearted comment above.
Napoleon said “My butchers bill is 100,000 man and France pays it every year.
What not to admire about Napoleon.
Program only on last week about this p.ick he hated the Irish and what is it with this government they want to be involved with every war that happen Ireland was not involved in this war or world one or two. I think the fg Tories feel left out by their heroes the English
Agree chris but Wellington hated the Irish he didn’t see him self as Irish and he’s on record as saying he didn’t trust them plus most of the great heros were Anglo Irish
Approx 40% of the British army were Irish at this point.
The French army in the invasion of Russia included 200,000 German men which was ~ 35% of their army it would be have been equivalent to ~100 % of the british army.
He did well but he is a in that he believed us working class were didn’t deserve to better ourselves!
Wellesley saw the two islands as one single entity. Nationality never came into it, it was all about class. The thing is the Britons lost their native culture through a succession of Roman, Saxon and Norman rule so they thought it wouldn’t be fair if we still had ours. After centuries of trying to eradicate us without success they planted the likes of Tap Solny and others here to perpetually create unrest and try to deny us the thing they lost. It’s still working for them today but at least we didn’t roll over as easily as those native Britons.
It’s a pity it took a bunch of Anglicans and Presbyterians to clear the path, though, eh?
It doesn’t matter what you say. At he end of the day he was ‘Irish’. The fact he might have denounced his heritage speaks volumes. What does it take to for a person to do such a thing? Loved by his troops and a man who stoped a megalomaniac in his tracks. His denunciation if Ireland is more a shame on us than on him.
what native britons,place is full of foreigners
And Protestant
Just because a man is born in a stable does not make him a horse…
So he was a typical Irish man after all.
have your say