The Annual Wellington Lecture | Remembering and Forgetting Wellington's Irish Soldiers

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Online registration for this lecture has now closed. If you would like to attend, please email events@soton.ac.uk.

We are pleased to invite you to join us for The 36th Annual Wellington Lecture on Tuesday 21 October at our Avenue Campus, University of Southampton.

We are honoured to present our guest speaker Dr Catriona Kennedy from the University of York, who will be speaking on the topic of 'Remembering and Forgetting Wellington's Irish Soldiers".

It is estimated that as many as 150,000 Irishmen served in the British army between 1793 and 1815 and Irish soldiers were to the fore in some of the most celebrated episodes of martial heroism in the Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns. At the Battle of Barrosa Sergeant Patrick Masterson from Roscommon was the first British army soldier to capture a French imperial eagle, while Sergeant James Graham of Clones, Co. Monaghan would be named by Wellington as ‘the bravest man at Waterloo’. And, in the Irish-born Duke of Wellington, Ireland could lay claim to the most acclaimed military commander of the era. Yet, while the nineteenth-century cult of the Highland soldier would allow a distinctive martial Scottishness to be celebrated within the United Kingdom, an equivalent form of patriotism grounded in Ireland’s military contribution failed to take hold.

This lecture will explore how Wellington’s Irish soldiers were represented and remembered in public memorials, military memoirs, and novels in the decades immediately following Waterloo and will consider why they failed to secure a more enduring place in the Irish national imagination.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get to Avenue Campus?
For all directions to Avenue Campus please click here.

Is car parking available?
Free parking is available in all University car parks after 5pm on weekdays and all day at weekends. We have an ANPR system in operation across the main Highfield Campus - but this is not enforced after 5pm.

What is the dress code?
Smart/casual.

Can I bring a guest?
Yes. If you would like to bring a guest please select two tickets and complete their details on the registration page. 

What should I do if I can no longer attend?
Please let the University of Southampton Events team know via email to events@soton.ac.uk

Will seating be provided?
Yes, the talks will have seating for all guests. 

Is there a photographer/videographer at the event?
Yes, this event will be recorded (but not live streamed). Any footage and images captured may be used for promotional, educational, and marketing purposes by the University of Southampton. By attending this event, you acknowledge that you may appear in the recorded material. If you do not wish to be filmed or photographed, please speak to a member of the event team upon arrival.

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