Mark (or Marcus) Talbot (c. 1649–1702) was an Irish

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was born in Ireland and served in the French army during a time when Irish Catholics were prohibited from serving in the Irish and English armies. His father rose in prominence during the reign of the Catholic James II of Ireland, who purged Protestants from the military and replaced them with Catholics. During this time of upheaval that Mark Talbot became a lieutenant colonel in 1689. He served as a commander at

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

during a Protestant uprising against King James, and on the side of Jacobites in subsequent conflicts. For his efforts, he was promoted to brigadier in 1691, and served as a Member of Parliament for Belfast.

Early life

He was born in Ireland at some point during the

Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, took place from 1641 to 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, all then ...

, the illegitimate son of the Irish soldier and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

Richard Talbot. His father was from a long-established family of Catholic Palesman. His mother is unknown, but is thought to be a member of the

O'Neills O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. is an Irish sporting goods manufacturer established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland, with production plants located in Dublin and Strabane. O'Neills has a long r ...

Shane's Castle Shane's Castle is a ruined castle near Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, which was mostly destroyed in 1816 by fire. The castle is situated on the north-east shores of Lough Neagh, 2.7 miles from Randalstown. Built ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

. Richard Talbot had connections to the family, and Mark retained strong links with the area. During the reign of Charles II Talbot saw service in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

, as many Irish Catholics did during the era when the

Penal laws Penal law refers to criminal law. It may also refer to: * Penal law (British), laws to uphold the establishment of the Church of England against Catholicism * Penal laws (Ireland) In Ireland, the penal laws () were a series of Disabilities (C ...

forbade them from serving in either the

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

or English Army.Lenihan, p. 181 After 1685 his father had gained power in Ireland following the coming to the throne of the Catholic James II. He oversaw a rapid purge of Protestant officers in the Irish Army, replacing them with Catholics. Mark Talbot was one of those who benefited and he became a lieutenant colonel in the Earl of Antrim's Regiment in 1689. While many of the replacement officers were inexperienced, Mark was part of a group of veterans of continental warfare that included Lawrence Dempsey and

Patrick Sarsfield Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan ( 1655 – 21 August 1693) was an Irish army officer. Killed at Battle of Landen, Landen in 1693 while serving in the French Royal Army, he is now best remembered as an Irish patriot and military hero. Born ...

. Talbot was appointed to command at

when a major rebellion broke out amongst Irish Protestants against King James' rule. He fought on the Jacobite side during the ensuing

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...

. When King James arrived and summoned the

Patriot Parliament Patriot Parliament is the name commonly used for the Irish Parliament session called by King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland which lasted from 1688 to 1691. The first since 1666, it held only one session, which lasted from 7 May ...

, Mark was selected as Member of Parliament for

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. Promoted to

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

in 1691, he was badly wounded at the

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim () was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Jacobitism, Jacobite army loyal to James II of England, James II and the forces of Will ...

. Following the

Treaty of Limerick The Treaty of Limerick (), signed on 3 October 1691, ended the Williamite War in Ireland, a conflict related to the Nine Years' War (1688–1697). It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commander ...

he was part of the

Flight of the Wild Geese The Flight of the Wild Geese was the departure of an Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on 3 October 1691, following the end of the Williamite War in Ireland ...

who went into exile on the Continent, serving with the Irish forces of the French Army. He fought in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

in 1692 and was present at the Italian

Battle of Marsaglia The Battle of Marsaglia was a battle in the Nine Years' War, fought in Italy on 4 October 1693, between the French army of Marshal Nicolas Catinat and the army of the Grand Alliance under Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy. Catinat, advancing f ...

in 1693. He was then appointed to command Clare's Regiment, which was intended to be part of a planned invasion of England in 1694. Shortly afterwards Talbot ran into trouble due to his romantic involvement with

Henrietta FitzJames Henrietta Butler, Viscountess Galmoye, previously Henrietta Waldegrave, Baroness Waldegrave (née Lady Henrietta FitzJames; 1667 – 3 April 1730), was an illegitimate daughter of James Stuart, Duke of York, subsequently King of England, Sc ...

, the widowed daughter of King James. The couple were close to getting married. Shortly afterwards he was imprisoned in the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

, allegedly after voicing critical views of James while drunk. Despite pleas from his former commanders Noailles and

Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest Communes of France, commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of th ...

, the French King

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

had him

cashiered Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline. Etymology From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard ...

. He was eventually reinstated as a colonel in the French Army following the outbreak of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

. He was killed at the

Battle of Luzzara The Battle of Luzzara took place in Lombardy on 15 August 1702 during the War of the Spanish Succession, between a combined French and Savoyard army under Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme, and an Imperial force under Prince Eugene. Conflict in ...

in 1702.Lenihan, p. 182 Although he was his father's only son, he could not inherit the title of

Earl of Tyrconnell Earl of Tyrconnell is a title that has been created four times in the Peerage of Ireland. It was first created in 1603, for Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, formerly king of Tyrconnell, along with the subsidiary title Baron Donegal. The 1 ...

because of his illegitimacy, and it went to one of his cousins after his father's death in 1691.

References

Bibliography

* Childs, John. ''The Williamite Wars in Ireland''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007. * Lenihan, Padraig. ''The Last Cavalier: Richard Talbot (1631-91)''. University College Dublin Press, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Talbot, Mark Year of birth unknown 1702 deaths 18th-century Irish people Irish Jacobites Irish soldiers Irish soldiers in the army of James II of England Year of birth uncertain Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for Belfast Irish MPs 1689