BooksChatter: ✉ Who Were the Wild Geese?

Today author Cynthia Owens takes over our blog to tell us about who the Wild Geese were.

The Carousel (1 July 2019, Highland Press Publishing, 295 pages), a Historical Romance, is Cynthia's latest novel and book seven in the Wild Geese series.

"I can always depend on Ms. Owens to create a hero that I would love to meet in person, and Kieran is no exception. I finished reading it today and, as usual, had a difficult time saying "goodbye" to both Kieran and his love interest, Emily. [...] I enjoyed every moment of it. The author's descriptions are so detailed, you can easily put yourself on any given page...fun! I love the depth of the characters, too." ~ I Am Celt, Amazon Verified Purchase reviewer

|| Synopsis || Teaser: KCR Preview || The Series || Author Guest Post || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

Who Were the Wild Geese?

by Cynthia Owens

Good morning! Thanks so much for having me as your guest today.

The Carousel is Book 7 of my Wild Geese Series. I chose the name to honor the Wild Geese of old Ireland. But upon picking up a copy of the book might wonder, “Who were the Wild Geese?”

The term “Wild Geese” refers to the young men of Ireland forced to leave their beloved homeland for service in the armies of Europe and America. They are all the Irish men and women who have left Ireland for the freedom they could not achieve at home.

The first flight of the Wild Geese took place after the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. The Irish, under the command of Patrick Sarsfield, supported King James II, the Catholic King of England, in his fight against William of Orange. Upon losing their stronghold at Limerick in 1691, the Irish forces surrendered. According to the rules of warfare of the time, the victorious William gave Sarsfield a choice: return to his lands in Ulster and swear allegiance to Parliament and the new king, or take his army and leave Ireland forever. Sarsfield departed Ireland with 10,000 soldiers for service in France, and thus, the first flight of the Wild Geese had begun.

But my hero, Kieran Donnelly, participated in what some call the second flight of the Wild Geese. This flight took place in the mid-19th Century, when An Gorta Mór (the Great Hunger) and the tyranny of the landlords drove the starving masses away from their beloved emerald shores, scattering the Irish to the four winds.

Kieran was luckier than many of the desperate refugees of the Irish hunger. On the Sally Malone, the coffin ship which took him and his twin brother to America, he met with three other boys. The five of them banded together, not only on the ship, but once they arrived in America. They grew up in the Five Points, working together, playing together, learning about life together. When Civil War broke out, they joined up under the green flag of Thomas Francis Meagher’s Irish Brigade and fought together.

The Wild Geese Series is dedicated to those brave adventurers who sought a better life in the New World.

Thank you for sharing The Carousel with me today!

Like the Wild Geese of Old Ireland, five boys grew to manhood despite hunger, war, and the mean streets of New York