militia

militia. The first Irish militia, a part‐time military force composed exclusively of Protestants, was raised at the outbreak of war with France in 1666. Mainly sponsored by Orrery, it was treated with suspicion by Ormond, who feared subversion by religious and political radicals. This Protestant militia was disarmed following rebellions against James II in England and Scotland (1685). Its weapons were subsequently distributed to a Catholic militia raised by Tyrconnell.

A new Protestant militia was raised during the Williamite War and given a statutory basis by an act of 1716 requiring all Protestant males aged between 16 and 60 to muster for four days each year. It was mobilized to repel possible invasion in 1739–40 and 1745, and formally arrayed in 1719 and 1756. In the second half of the century the state of the now moribund militia became an issue of political controversy, with government reluctance to accede to patriot demands for the revival of what was seen as a citizen army providing the background to the rise of the Volunteers.

A new Irish militia, a full‐time force liable for service within the British Isles, was established in 1793. An initial system of recruiting by compulsory ballot provoked widespread and often violent resistance. The rapid substitution of voluntary recruitment permitted the raising by 1795 of over 12,000 soldiers, growing by 1800 to 25,000. Although most militia offices were Protestants, the rank and file were predominantly Catholic. During summer 1797 evidence of widespread penetration by Defenders and United Irishmen led to a series of courts martial and executions. In the event militia units deployed during the insurrection of 1798 performed creditably against insurgents. Yet suspicion as to their reliability continued. After 1800 the militia was increasingly regarded as a feeder for the regular army, leaving peacekeeping and defence duties to regulars and the yeomanry. From 1908 militia battalions, in Ireland as elsewhere, were absorbed into the regular army's special reserve.