Who was the Irishman who rescued the Emperor? Maximilian Karl Lamoral Graf O’Donnell von
Tyrconnell (1812-1895) was born in Vienna, a descendant of the Irish noble dynasty of O'Donnell of
Tyrconnell and son of Count Maurice O'Donnell (Moritz Graf O’Donnell) (1780-1843). He was
educated in Dresden, then joined the military and served in several engagements in Europe, including
in Italy in 1848, and Hungary in 1849, resulting in many awards and promotion. He became aide-de-
camp to Emperor Franz Josef I.  

O’Donnell held a German Habsburg title of Count, granted to his great-grandfather, and after
rescuing the Emperor, he was made a Count of the Habsburg Austrian Empire. Maximilian was also
honoured with orders of chivalry by several European monarchs, and made a Freeman of the cities
of Vienna, Prague, Pest, Laibach and others. He was also conferred with the Commander's Cross of
the Royal Order of Leopold. He died in his home in Salzburg, and is buried in the Salzburg
Cemetery. But why was he there in the first place?
Several Irishmen were famous in the Habsburg Empire. Much earlier, in 1634, during the Thirty
Years' War, Irish officers led by Walter Deveraux assassinated general Albrecht von Wallenstein on
the orders of the Habsburg Emperor. Then there was the "Flight of the Wild Geese", which
technically refers to the departure of an Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield
from Ireland to France after the end of the Williamite War in Ireland. But more broadly, the term
"Wild Geese" refers to Irish soldiers who left to serve in continental European armies in the 16th,
17th and 18th centuries, or even to Irish soldiers in British armies as late as the First World War.
As well as going into service for the governments of France, Spain and elsewhere, a substantial
numbers of Irish officers and men were in the armies of the Austrian Habsburg Empire, many of
whom were based in Prague. The most famous of these was Peter Lacy, Russian Field Marshal,
whose son Franz Moritz von Lacy excelled in the Austrian service. Also well known is Lacy's
colleague and commanding officer, General Count Maximilian Ulysses von Browne, the Austrian
Commander-in-Chief at the Battle of Lobositz.
Austrian field marshal Franz Moritz Graf von Lacy or Lascy 1725 – 1801, was born at St Petersburg
to Count Peter Lacy, a Russian Field Marshal who belonged to an Irish family that had followed the
exiled James II.  Franz Moritz was educated in Germany for a military career before entering the
Austrian service. He served in Italy, Bohemia, Silesia and the Netherlands during the War of the
Austrian Succession, was twice wounded, and by the end of the war was a lieutenant-colonel. He
became full colonel and chief of an infantry regiment at age twenty-five. With the advent of the
Seven Years' War in 1756, he distinguished himself in the first battle (Lobositz) and was promoted
major-general, after receiving his third wound. His fourth wound was at the battle of Prague in 1757.
Later that year, he took part in the celebrated victory of Breslau. He was wounded for the fifth time
at Leuthen, but covered the retreat of the defeated army. He and others made things difficult for
Friedrich the Great for the remainder of the war. Lacy was made quartermaster-general, After
Hochkirch on October 15, 1758, Lacy received the Grand Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa.
Later, after Maria Theresa placed her son, Emperor Joseph II, at the head of Austrian military
affairs, Lacy was made a field marshal, and given the task of reforming and administering the army
(1766). He framed new regulations for each arm and a new code of military law. Due to ill health, in
1773, he went to southern France. When Joseph II  became Austrian emperor upon Maria Theresa's
death, Lacy remained his most trusted friend. He took part in several more military actions and
retired to his castle of Neuwaldegg near Vienna.
Wild Geese and Irishmen
On February 18, 1853, Emperor Franz Joseph survived an assassination
attempt. He was walking with an officer when a Hungarian nationalist named
János Libényi sprang out and stabbed him in the neck. His stiff collar
deflected the knife. Officer Maximilian Karl Lamoral Graf O’Donnell von
Tyrconnell immediately struck Libényi down with his sabre, an act for which
he was rewarded and made a Count of the Habsburg Empire. Another witness
who helped Franz was a butcher named Joseph Ettenreich who was later
elevated to nobility by the Emperor and became Joseph von Ettenreich.
Libényi was tried, condemned to death for attempted regicide and executed on
the Simmeringer Haide. After the unsuccessful attack the Emperor's brother
Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph called upon the Europe's Royal families for
donations to a new church on the site of the attack. The church was to be a
Votivgabe (a thank-you to God) for the rescue of the Emperor and is called
the Votivkirche.