Hello.
This is a message from an Irish Sharpe fan. When I finished my final school exams all the way back in 2004, my parents bought me the entire VHS box set of Sharpe (from ‘Rifles’ to ‘Waterloo’) because I was massively involved in historical re-enacting (albeit with an American Civil War group). Since then, I’ve packed such activities in and become something of an armchair general, whilst maintaining a strong interest in military history, and particularly in the aspects which deal with the Irish diaspora.
So naturally, you can imagine how much I enjoyed Sharpe’s Battle. However, having done a little bit of research on Spain’s Irish regiments, it doesn’t seem that they would have needed any extra training (even from a warrior like Sharpe). Was the story of the Royal Irish Company based on any event in particular (which may have been overlooked by my own sources), or were you using artistic license?
Regards,
Justin Scannell
P.S.: I’ve got all the Nathaniel Starbuck series. Top class!