Lisagh Farrell or Lewis Farrell was an Irish soldier of the seventeenth century.

Confederate wars and exile

He was the younger brother of

Richard Farrell Richard Farrell (30 December 1926 – 27 May 1958) was a New Zealand classical pianist. Musical career Early life Thomas Richard Farrell was born in Auckland in 1926 to Thomas and Ella Farrell, and spent most of his young years in Wellingto ...

, who had served as a General in the Irish Confederate Army during the 1640s. Following the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...

he went into exile on the Continent and served in a force of Irish troops led by Richard in the French Army. During Richard's absences, Lisagh served as the de facto commander of the unit. Following the 1656

Treaty of Brussels The Treaty of Brussels, also referred to as the Brussels Pact, was the founding treaty of the Western Union (WU) between 1948 and 1954, when it was amended as the Modified Brussels Treaty (MTB) and served as the founding treaty of the Western Eu ...

between the exiled

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and the Spanish, Farrell and his second-in-command

Connell Ferrall Sir Connell Ferrall was an Irish soldier of the seventeenth century noted for his service during the War of the Two Kings. Ferrall was a Roman Catholic from Tirlickin in County Longford. He was a member of the Farrell clan by descent. Ferrall w ...

defected to the Spanish and turned over the key

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

fortress of

Saint-Ghislain Saint-Ghislain (; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2018 the municipality had 23,335 inhabitants. The total area is , giving a population density of . The municipality consists ...

to them. Farrell then served as commander of an Irish regiment for Charles in the

Royalist Army in Exile The Royalist Army in Exile was the army formed by those loyal to Charles II from 1656 to 1660 during his exile from the throne. They were a mixture of Royalist troops from his three Kingdoms. It included men from England and Scotland, but the bul ...

fighting alongside the Spanish Army. Following the Restoration, the regiment waited at

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

alongside another Irish unit led by John Fitzgerald. The penal laws against Catholics effectively barred them from serving in the restored

Royal Irish Army Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

Tangier

Following the 1661

Marriage Treaty The Marriage Treaty, or Anglo-Portuguese Treaty, was a treaty of alliance that was agreed between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Portugal and concluded on 23 June 1661. It led to the marriage of Charles II of England and Catherine of ...

between England and Portugal, Charles acquired the Mediterranean enclave of

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

. As part of its new garrison he transferred his Irish regiments from Dunkirk.Childs p.115 Farrell was involved in much of the early fighting with the surrounding

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

forces, but later left and returned to Ireland.

References

Bibliography

* Childs, John. ''The Army of Charles II''. Routledge, 1976. 17th-century Irish military personnel People from County Longford Irish soldiers Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Soldiers of the Tangier Garrison {{Ireland-bio-stub