McAlpine's Fusiliers en · NOUN
Etymology
After Sir Robert McAlpine, a major employer of Irish workmen, and (possibly) the military appearance of a group of men with shovels over their shoulders.
Meanings
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(Ireland, UK, informal, plural, plural-only) The Irish immigrant labour force in Britain in the early 20th century.
He'd left his homeland at fifteen, seeking his fortune on the motorways of Britain with McAlpine's Fusiliers before migrating to Sydney.
2006, Kevin Noble, Baghdad Trucker, Durham: Northern Writers, page 92: