Battle of Waterloo

Battle of Waterloo — On June 18, 1815, British-led forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington, who was born in Dublin, achieve a decisive victory over Napoleon Bonaparte’s army near Waterloo, in present-day Belgium. The battle marks the end of the Napoleonic Wars and reshapes the political landscape of Europe.

Though famously known as the “Iron Duke”, Wellington wasn’t the only Irish connection on the battlefield. Napoleon’s horse, Marengo, was reportedly reared in County Wexford, and a significant number of Irish soldiers fought on both sides of the conflict. Wellington himself once remarked, “Being born in a stable does not make one a horse,” when downplaying his Irish roots — yet Ireland’s imprint on the day was unmistakable.