Father Sarsfield (real name Father Mallon) is a major antagonist in the Bernard Cornwell novel Sharpe's Battle. He is an Irish priest in 1811.
Biography[]
Father Mallon was an Irish patriot living in exile in Philadelphia. He attempted to raise an army to fight the British, but ended up having to join the campaign of Irish rebel Wolfe Tone. After travelling to Paris, the pair attempted to invade Ireland in 1798 but Tone was quickly captured and committed suicide in prison. Mallon escaped and travelled to Spain, adopting the identity of Father Sarsfield and befriending a fellow Irish exile, Lady Kiely. During this time, he acted as an agent for the French, spying on Spain for them.
By 1811, with most of Spain under French control, Sarsfield longed for a chance to fight against his old enemies, the British. He had become the chaplain for the Real Irlanesa Compania, a Spanish battalion made up of the descendants of Irish exiles and led by Lord Kiely, the son of his old friend. Sarsfield was by now working for the French intelligence officer Major Pierre Ducos. He travelled with the battalion to Fort San Isidro, where they were to be trained by Captain Richard Sharpe in order to see active service against the French. Sarsfield greeted Sharpe warmly, recalling how his capture of a French eagle at Talavera was celebrated in Madrid, but confessed to being uncomfortable at fighting under a British flag. He and Captain Donaju remained with the men while Kiely and most of the other officers dined.
Sarsfield was provided with forged American newspapers by Dona Juanita, another of Ducos' agents. The papers contained false reports of British atrocities in Ireland and Sarsfield distributed them among the men, hoping to incite a rebellion. He was part of a delegation that confronted Sharpe about the allegations but Sharpe dismissed them, pointing out that none of the soldiers newly arrived from Ireland had said anything. He sent Sarsfield and Donaju to the camp to confirm from the Irish soldiers there that the reports were false.
After Dona Juanita had been exposed and Kiely, who had been engaged to her, had committed suicide out of shame, Sarsfield conducted his funeral as near to holy ground as was allowed. Afterwards, he was confronted by British intelligence officer Major Michael Hogan, who had worked out both Sarsfield's loyalties and his history: Dona Juanita had been trying to transport fresh papers to him when she was caught, wrapped in prayer music and claiming the Irish soldiers were all going to be posted to certain death in the Caribbean. Sarsfield produced a pistol, intending to kill Hogan, but was shot dead by Sharpe, who Hogan had instructed to lie in wait. Sharpe admitted that he'd liked Sarsfield, whilst Hogan, arranging to have him quietly buried with Kiely, sprinkled some soil from Ireland on the grave.
