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James Kirkland (fl. 1730) was an Irish giant and a member of the Potsdam Giants who served under Frederick William I of Prussia, known as the “Soldier King”. He was 217 cm tall (7 feet 1.5 inches), and was a native of Ballygar, County Longford. Kirkland was in 1730 a footman to Baron Borck, at the time Prussian Ambassador to London. Borck, however, did not really need a footman, and had Kirkland forcibly impressed upon a Prussian ship at Portsmouth, where he was press-ganged into the Potsdam Guards. It is claimed that he was accompanied in the regiment by other tall soldiers from Ireland. One of his fellow soldiers was the poet, Tomás Ó Caiside (c.1709–1773?). A portrait of Kirkland survives. ==External links== * http://factoidz.com/the-potsdam-guards-prussias-giant-soldiers/ * http://www.exulanten.com/luise2.html * http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0808/1224252235290.html * http://www.lange-kerls.de/Home/_13 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「James Kirkland (Irish giant)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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