Royal Irish Regiment (1992)
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- For the regiment of the same name, disbanded in 1922, see Royal Irish Regiment (1684-1922)
| The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) | |
|---|---|
 Cap Badge of the Royal Irish Regiment |
|
| Active | 1 July 1992- |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Role | 1st Battalion - Air Assault/Light Role 2nd Battalion - TA Reserve[1] |
| Size | Two battalions |
| Garrison/HQ | RHQ - Holywood 1st Battalion - Ternhill 2nd Battalion - Portadown |
| Nickname | None |
| Motto | Irish: Faugh A Ballagh (English: Clear the Way) |
| March | Quick - Killaloe Slow - Eileen Alannah |
| Mascot | Irish Wolfhound (Brian Boru VIII) |
| Anniversaries | Barrossa Day, 5 March; Somme Day, 1 July |
| Engagements | Kosovo War, Sierra Leone Civil War, Operation Banner, 2nd Gulf War, War in Afghanistan |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
1 R IRISH: Lt Col Ed Freely[2] 2 R IRISH: Lt Col Andy Cullen[3] |
| Colonel in Chief | HRH The Duke of York KG KCVO ADC(P) |
| Colonel of the Regiment |
Lieutenant General Philip Charles Cornwallis Trousdell, KBE, CB |
| Notable commanders |
Lt Col Tim Collins OBE |
| Insignia | |
| Tactical Recognition Flash |  |
| Tartan | Saffron (pipes) |
| Hackle | Green From Royal Irish Rangers |
| Abbreviation | R IRISH |
The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) (R IRISH) is an infantry unit of the British Army. It is the only remaining Irish regiment of the line.[4]
Contents |
[edit] 1992 creation
With an antecedence reaching back to 1689, the regiment was formed in 1992. The creation followed the Options for Change proposals which recommended through the amalgamation of the Royal Irish Rangers and the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). Most of the membership of the new Regiment came from the UDR. This produced a regiment with eleven battalions:
- Regular Army - General Service
- 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
- Territorial Army
- 4th Battalion, Royal Irish Rangers
- 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Rangers
- Regular Army - Northern Ireland Resident Battalions (or "Home Service")
- 3rd (County Down) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
- 4th (County Fermanagh and County Tyrone) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
- 5th (County Londonderry) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
- 6th (County Armagh) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
- 7th (City of Belfast) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
- 8th (County Tyrone) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
- 9th (County Antrim) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
- Note: Northern Ireland Resident Battalion is the official Army terminology for what was previously known as the "Home Service" (a term still mistakenly used).
The Northern Ireland Resident Battalions filled the role formerly occupied by the UDR; conducting counter-terrorism operations in Northern Ireland under Operation BANNER. The 1st and 2nd Battalions, by contrast, served worldwide as general service battalions.
Because of its size, the regiment was removed from the King's Division and existed outside the divisions of infantry. In 1993, one of the regular battalions (2 R IRISH based in Lemgo) was disbanded. In 2001, the number of Northern Ireland Resident Battalions was reduced to three:
- 2nd Battalion - amalgamation of 7th and 9th Battalions
- 3rd Battalion - amalgamation of 3rd and 6th Battalions[5]
- 4th Battalion - amalgamation of 4th and 5th Battalions
[edit] Current organisation
In 2005, the government announced the end of Operation BANNER, and with it the disbandment of the resident battalions. These were declared non-operational in October 2006, and disbanded in July 2007. At the same time, the Royal Irish Rangers, then serving as the TA battalion, was fully incorporated as the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment. Today, the operational command of the Royal Irish Regiment encompasses:
- 1st Battalion - general service
- 2nd Battalion - Territorial Army
- B (North Irish Horse) Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry - Territorial Army (a Royal Armoured Corps squadron under the operational command of the 2nd Battalion)
The Regimental Headquarters was, until Summer 2008, at St Patrick's Barracks, Ballymena, and is now at Palace Barracks, Holywood, Belfast.
[edit] Restructuring
In 2004, a major restructuring of the infantry was announced. It recommended, inter alia, that all of the remaining single battalion infantry regiments be amalgamated. Under normal circumstances, this would have put the Royal Irish Regiment at risk but because of its unique status providing the home defence for Northern Ireland, and as the only remaining Irish line infantry regiment, it was decided to leave the Royal Irish Regiment as it was, with no changes, with perhaps the exception of bringing the Territorial Army battalion more fully within the regiment's structure by renaming it as 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment. This allowed a 'line infantry footprint' to remain in Northern Ireland.
In Northern Ireland the Regiment recruits from all sections of the community and both sides of any sectarian divide. In common with other line infantry regiments it has recruited many non-UK personnel, particularly from across the border in the Republic of Ireland, which permits its citizens to enlist in the British forces, but forbids active recruiting.
The regiment also recruits from overseas countries such as South Africa, Zimbabwe, Fiji and from around the Caribbean.
[edit] Recent deployments
| British Army Arms and Services |
|---|
 |
| Combat Arms |
| Royal Armoured Corps |
| Infantry |
| Army Air Corps |
| Combat Support Arms |
| Royal Artillery |
| Royal Engineers |
| Royal Corps of Signals |
| Intelligence Corps |
| Combat Services |
| Royal Army Chaplains Department |
| Royal Logistic Corps |
| Army Medical Services |
| Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
| Adjutant General's Corps |
| Small Arms School Corps |
| Army Physical Training Corps |
| General Service Corps |
| Corps of Army Music |
The 1st Battalion has just returned to 16 Air Assault Brigade. This Brigade is one of two British light brigades, designed to be capable of rapidly deploying to trouble spots around the world.
In 2000 in Sierra Leone, while deployed to train government troops, eleven Royal Irish soldiers and their local army liaison officer, were kidnapped by the West Side Boys insurgents. Five hostages were later released and the remaining six were freed by the Special Air Service and The Parachute Regiment during Operation BARRAS, with the West Side Boys suffering severe casualties in the action.[6]
1 R IRISH also deployed with its brigade to Iraq at the beginning of Operation Telic in March 2003, where they carried out operations in the south of the country. Its now-retired Commanding Officer, Lt Col Tim Collins was honoured with an Order of the British Empire for distinguished service.
1 R IRISH returned from six months in Iraq on Op TELIC 6/7 where they served in Shaibah Logistics Base near Basra. Although the majority of the Battalion was deployed around the MND(SE) area a single Company was deployed to Baghdad.
[edit] Structure
[edit] 1st Battalion
The 1st Battalion, as part of the restructuring of the infantry, has assumed a fixed role as a light role battalion, rotating with two other line infantry/rifles battalions in the air assault role as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade. As part of this, the battalion moved from Fort George, Inverness to Tern Hill in 2007. In September 2008 the battalion completed a tour in Afghanistan (Op HERRICK 8) and returned to Shropshire.[7][8][9]
[edit] Northern Ireland Resident Battalions (Home Service)
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) announced an end to its armed campaign in the summer of 2006. In response the United Kingdom government announced military cuts which included the Royal Irish Regiment. Having played a significant role in creating the environment for normalisation the Northern Ireland Resident Battalions of the Regiment were told that they would be disbanded. In March 2006, a redundancy package was announced and they ceased to be operational in October that year. On 1 August 2007 Operation Banner, the military support to the civilian police (the Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI) in Northern Ireland ended, and the three resident battalions were disbanded.[10]
Adam Ingram, Armed Forces Minister said:
| “ | We will never forget that over 200 Royal Irish home service/UDR personnel have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in Northern Ireland. I know that the day of disbandment will be a sad one for the battalion and for each and every member of the home service, but we should take the opportunity and look at how far we have come. | ” |
Regimental Colonel Mark Campbell said "The end of Operation Banner (the military operation in support of the Police Service of Northern Ireland) reflects the success of the home service whose men and women have played a significant role in bringing Northern Ireland to the far more peaceful circumstances it enjoys today."
The home service battalions were awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) by HM The Queen in Belfast, 6 October 2006.[11] It is the first time the medal, second in precedence only to the Victoria Cross, has been awarded to a military unit rather than to an individual member of the armed forces.
The 1st Battalion, other than accepting transfers of willing Home Service soldiers into its Order of battle, was unaffected by these disbandments. As part of the reduction of Army strength in Northern Ireland to a conventional garrison, the RHQ in Ballymena was earmarked for closure. It closed in the Summer of 2008, with the Royal Irish RHQ moving to Palace Barracks in Belfast. The Royal Irish band, the largest musical ensemble in the British Army, will be transferred to the Territorial Army.
[edit] The 2nd Battalion (previously "The Rangers")
Individual members of the Rangers served on operations in Op TELIC in Iraq. They served with, inter alia, the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR) in Al Amarrah and in other areas of Iraq with 1 R IRISH and The London Regiment. With 1 R IRISH now back as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade, the newly titled 2nd Battalion are now trained for a more operational role commitment, in support of their regular counterparts.
[edit] Casualties
The Regiment has lost seven soldiers to paramilitary action in Northern Ireland.[12][13][14][15] The last to die in Northern Ireland was Corporal Telford Withers (3 R IRISH Part-Time) - shot at his shop by IRA gunmen, Downpatrick Street, Crossgar, County Down, on 6 August 1994. His daughter, Cpl. Claire Withers, was presented the CGC by Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the Regiment. One R IRISH soldier died in the former Yugoslavia in 1993.[16]
To date (4 September 2008), four regimental members have been killed in Afghanistan.[17][18][19][20]
[edit] Operational honours
[edit] Iraq
- Corporal Trevor Raywood Coult, Military Cross[21]
- Lieutenant Richard Gordon Deane, Military Cross[22]. Deane was attached to 1 Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment and the Platoon Commander of Johnson Beharry, Victoria Cross.
[edit] Afghanistan
- Captain Douglas Ricardo Beattie, Military Cross[23]
[edit] Other information
In memory of a conflict, in 2006, involving the regiment in a battle in the town of Musa Qala in Afghanistan, a new Regimental March, composed by Chris Attrill and commissioned by Larne Borough Council, was gifted to the regiment on Saturday 1st November 2008 in Larne, County Antrim during an event in which the regiment was also presented with the 'Freedom of the Borough'. This gives the regiment the right to march through the town with 'flags flying, bands playing and bayonets fixed'. The March was named, 'Musa Qala'. [24]
[edit] Order of precedence
| Preceded by: Royal Welsh |
Infantry Order of Precedence | Succeeded by: Parachute Regiment |
[edit] Lineage
| Lineage | |||
| Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) | The Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th) | The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers | The 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot |
| The 108th Regiment of Foot (Madras Infantry) | |||
| The Royal Ulster Rifles | 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot | ||
| The 86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot | |||
| The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) | The 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot | ||
| The 89th (The Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot | |||
| The Ulster Defence Regiment | |||
[edit] Alliances
Canada - The Princess Louise Fusiliers- Canada - 2nd Battalion, The Irish Regiment of Canada
Australia - Adelaide University Regiment
New Zealand - The Canterbury, and Nelson-Marlborough and West Coast Regiment
South Africa - The South African Irish Regiment
Gibraltar - The Royal Gibraltar Regiment
Pakistan - 1st Battalion, The Punjab Regiment- Pakistan - 9th Battalion, The Frontier Force Regiment
Royal Navy - HMS Bulwark
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Article on Colonel Tim Collins in Iraq, "that speech" and alleged war crimes
- Site with forum to discuss end of Operation Banner with a R IRISH focus
[edit] References
- ^ "MOD website". http://www2.army.mod.uk/royalirish/index.html#. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
- ^ "Belfast Telegraph". http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/article3084613.ece. Retrieved 20 November 2007.
- ^ "Belfast Newsletter". http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/Emotional-return-for-TA-soldiers.4560494.jp.
- ^ "MOD Website". http://www2.army.mod.uk/royalirish/index.html. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199899/cmhansrd/vo990629/text/90629w09.htm
- ^ "BBC Website". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/903230.stm. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "MOD Website". http://www2.army.mod.uk/royalirish/index.html. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "MOD Website - support R IRISH in Afghanistan". http://www2.army.mod.uk/royalirish/wristbands.htm. Retrieved 16 August 2008.
- ^ "MOD Website -". http://www.army.mod.uk/infantry/regiments/6656.aspx. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
- ^ "BBC Website "NI soldiers getting £250m pay-off"". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4789624.stm. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "MOD Website (google cache) "Queen awards Conspicuous Gallantry Cross to the Royal Irish Regiment"". http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:3es1kXHl1mYJ:www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/HistoryAndHonour/QueenAwardsConspicuousGallantryCrossToTheRoyalIrishRegiment.htm+conspicuous+gallantry+cross&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=uk. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "CAIN Website Index of Deaths in NI". http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/alpha/I.html. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "CAIN Website Index of Deaths in NI". http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/alpha/W.html. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "CAIN Website – Index of Deaths in NI". http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/alpha/W.html. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "CAIN Website – Index of Deaths in NI". http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/alpha/J.html. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "MOD Website – Balkan Fatalities". http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets/BalkansBritishFatalities.htm. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "MOD Website". http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/LanceCorporalLukeMccullochKilledInAfghanistan.htm. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "MOD Website". http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/LanceCorporalPaulMuirheadKilledInAfghanistan.htm. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "MOD Website". http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/RangerAnareDraivaKilledInAfghanistan.htm. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "Ranger Justin James Cupples". Uk MoD. http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/RangerJustinJamesCupplesKilledInAfghanistan.htm. "The Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of Ranger Justin James Cupples of 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment."
- ^ "COI Website - Awards". http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/detail.asp?NewsAreaID=2&ReleaseID=225588. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "MOD Website – Op TELIC Awards". http://www.operations.mod.uk/telic/ophons05/ophonslst05.htm. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "Daily Telegraph". http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1536909/Armed-forces-operational-honours-15th-December-2006.html?pageNum=2. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
- ^ Freedom of the Borough
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