And to tie it all in -

There was a certain support of Napoleon in Ireland during his, at first, successful fights against European countrys. I beleive that Napoleon even made overtures to the Irish in that he would grant them independence if he defeated Britain. To that point, quite a few Irish boys went off to fight with Napoleon's armies.

Of course that wasn't the first time Ireland's boys were lured into other people's fights and it certainly wasn't the last time.

Anyone who knows more - please feel free to correct me or add more info.

pax yall