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CULTURE

The Irish Wine Connection:

Bordeaux

An exhibition titled Strangers to Irish who settled in the region of Bor- The Glucksman Ireland House in
Citizens: The Irish in Europe 1600- deaux and elsewhere becoming es- New York celebrated its twentieth
1800 was held at the National Library tablished as renowned wine growers anniversary in 2013 as the Centre
of Ireland in 2008. It tells their story and wealthy merchants. In January for Irish and Irish-American Studies
through commentaries and expla- 2011, while working on an 18th cen- of the New York University (NYU).
nations with a number of panels on tury legal archive, Professor Thomas It hosts major exhibitions, lectures,
major facets about Ireland, Jour- M. Truxes of New York University; cultural, literary and social events on
neys, Colleges, Military, Merchants unearthed a collection of documents historical and contemporary Ireland
and Professionals. The exhibition that had been seized aboard an Irish as part of the University academic
displayed a selection of books with trading vessel in March 1757. programme bringing together lead-
historical source material and pro- ing scholars from Europe and United
vided computer access to Irish Her- Captain John Dennis, master of the States.
aldry including several data bases for Two Sisters of Dublin, was return-
research on the Irish in Europe and ing home from Bordeaux to Ireland Bordeaux Wine Trade 1
beyond. with a cargo of 218 tuns of wine and The names of Irish dynasties who set-
five tons of cork when his vessel was tled as wine merchants in Bordeaux
A major exodus from Ireland oc- intercepted by a British privateer, the and elsewhere still carry the names
curred in 1692 after signature of the Ceaser of Bristol. King George II had of some prestigious wine labels that
Treaty of Limerick, military and civil, declared war against the French King have left their mark until the present.
allowing the defeated supporters of Louis XV in May 1756 that meant all They include Lynch (John), Barton
James II to leave Ireland and prom- vessels engaged in trade with the en- (Tom), Lawton (Abraham, the pio-
ising religious tolerance for Catho- emies of the Crown were subject to neer from Cork), who was the most
lics. Under the leadership of the old confiscation. Among the documents powerful of an impOrtant group of
English-Gaelic Catholic commander, was a packet of 123 letters, most writ- Irish wine merchants on Bordeaux's
Patrick Sarsfield (1655-1693), he and ten by members of the Irish com- famous Quai des Chartrons who
thousands of his troops were allowed munity in the Bordeaux region to controlled millions of bottles, Burke,
to go into exile to serve in the armies family, friends and business associ- Boyd and Johnston (Nathaniel) who
of Louis XIV and became known ates in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Gal- was from Ulster. In fact, the very bot-
as the 'Wild Geese They spread way and other places in Ireland tle of wine used for Bordeaux wines
through many regions of continental about eighty-five of the letters were was designed by an Irishman.
Europe and elsewhere. unopened at the time of discovery.
Twenty five were written in French. The Irish also became owners of
More broadly,the term 'Wild Geese' prominent wine growing properties.
is used in Irish history to refer to the As a whole the letters provide an ex- John Lynch from Galway founded
soldiers who served in the armies traordinary window into a period Chateau Lynch-Bages. Thomas Bar-
of continental Europe between the with strong connections linking Ire- ton first prospered as a merchant
sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. land and the expatriate community before founding Chateau Langua-
Since 1995 The Wild Geese Herit- in France with correspondents who Barton and Leoville-Barton. Other
age Museum and Library serves as an ranged from wealthy merchants in properties with Irish ties include
important national source tracing the the Irish wine trade to young Irish- Chateau Clarke, Boyd-Cantenac,
achievements of these Irish soldiers men being educated in France to Chateau Siran and Chateau Pichon-
and their descendants who served in British and Irish prisoners of war Lalande (Burke), Chateau Kirwan,
the famous 'Irish Brigades' in France incarcerated in the notorious Bay- Chateau Phelan-Segur and Chateau
and around the world. onne Castle. Most of the letters were Dillon. In all there are said to be four-
written by ordinary people. Particu- teen chateaux, ten streets, one wine
The Irish Wine Connection larly striking is the strong presence of commune and a public monument
A lesser known story is about the women. that have Irish names in Bordeaux.

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