Black Boneens

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The "Black Boneens" is the nickname of a fictional rival regiment mentioned in "The Mutiny of the Mavericks" by Rudyard Kipling.

The term Boneen is Newfoundland Gaelic dialect for a young pig (derived from Dineen > Erse Gaelic). The slang probably indicates that the unit is either from the Maritimes region of Canada or served there during its history.

They seem to be a rowdy lot with poor discipline. As an example, the men of the "Mavericks" mention in barracks gossip that a platoon of the "Boneens" were currently being court-martialed for almost killing a new recruit while hazing him.

The regiment seems to resemble the 100th Prince of Wales' Royal Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians), a Canadian regiment raised in 1858 to serve in India during the Mutiny. In 1881, it was paired with a former Honourable East India Company regiment to form the Prince of Wales' Own Leinster Regiment.