of the Irish Catholic
Brigade in the service of France from the fall of the Stuarts in
England until the fall of the Bourbons in France--and regularly
recruited for a hundred years from Ireland--the French people
recognise the distinct and separate nationality of the Irish
regiments. "We are 'Les Irlandais,' and not 'Les Anglais'" says Father
Gleeson. "Our flags have done that." "The French priests are very fond
of us," he goes on to relate, "and give us the use of their beautiful
chapels. The people wept after the Munsters the other day when we left
a village where we were billeted for a rest." He proudly adds, "On all
sides the Munsters are being congratulated for their magnificent
behaviour. This is due to the men's faith! They are the best conducted
battalion of all the Armies engaged in this world-war, because they
are the most Irish, the most Catholic, and the most pure."

The 2nd Munsters have been in the thick of the fighting ever since
the outbreak of war. Of the men who landed in France in August, 1914,
there are but few survivors. The bones of many are mouldering in the
soil of France and Flanders. Others are prisoners at Limburg-an-Lahn
in Germany, captured in the rearguard actions during the retreat from
Mons. The gaps in the ranks have been filled up by other lads from
Limerick, Cork, Kerry and Clare. Always uncertain are the chances of
life, but how strange and fantastic they sometimes appear! Who of
these boys ever imagined in 1914 that within a year they would be
serving in the British Army, much less fighting against Germany on the
Continent? Fresh from the towns and villages of Munster, and new to
soldiering and warfare, their racial qualities were put to the test at
Rue de Bois, close to Neuve Chapelle, on Sunday, May 9th, 1915, when
the Third Infantry Brigade were ordered to attack the trenches that
had been held by the Germans since October. The story of the fight
brings out the services of the chaplain of the battalion; and the
sustaining courage which the men derive from their religious
observances and their green flags, the embodiment of that ancient
Irish inspiration--"Faith and Fatherland." I have compiled my
narrative from the accounts written by Mrs. Victor Rickard, widow of
Colonel Rickard, the officer in command of the regiment, who was
killed gallantly leading his men on that memorable day; and
Sergeant-Major T.J. Leahy, of Monkstown, Co. Cork, who took part in
the engagement. It is wort