Flower of Finae John Joe McMahon
A poem written by Thomas Davis (1814 - 1845) as a tribute to Daniel O'Brien, 3rd Viscount Clare, who raised a mounted dragoon regiment during the Jacobite war, Clare's Regiment, initially named 'O'Brien's Regiment' after its originator but later known as 'Clare's Dragoons'. When Clare's Dragoons left Limerick with the Flight of the Wild Geese they became a regiment of infantry, Clare's Dragoons remained loyal to the dethroned James II of England and fought against the army of William III of England, during the Williamite War in Ireland. Exiled Irish troops became known as "The Wild Geese" and fought as mercenaries. Clare's Dragoons greatest triumph, among many, was the Battle of Ramilles. When the English forces had turned the French, Lord Clare spurred his Irish troops into action with the battle cry "Cuimhnígí ar Luimneach" (Remember Limerick!). The English were routed.
For information on Thomas Davis, see notes to 'Grave of Wolfe Tone'.
Jim Carroll