Occasionally, I am asked why any Irish impacted by the American Civil War should be remembered in Ireland. After all, the argument goes, these people left our shores, and they weren’t fighting for ‘Ireland.’ In response, I usually point out that many were Famine-era emigrants, who often felt they had little choice but to leave. There are many other reasons for remembrance, but perhaps one of the most persuasive is that these emigrants tended not to forget those at home. Whether we realise it or not, the ancestors of many in Ireland today benefited greatly from something that Irish emigrants to America sent back- money. One such emigrant was a man named Thomas Bowler from Youghal, Co. Cork. His decision to enlist in the Irish Brigade was almost certainly borne from a desire to help his wife and child, more than 3,000 miles away across the Atlantic.

I have previously