, image= Badge of the Irish Cavalry Corps.svg , image_size = 200 , caption=Collar badge of the Cavalry Corps , dates=1934 – present , country= , branch=

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, command_structure= Badge of the Irish Defence Forces

Defence Forces The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the armed forces of certain countries and territories. Defence forces * Ambazonia Defence Forces *Artsakh Defence Army * Australian Defen ...

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Armoured Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

, role=Light Cavalry
Armoured Reconnaissance

ISTAR ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing ...

, motto= Through the mud and blood to the green fields beyond , nickname="''The Cav''" , battles= , size=Three

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

s , garrison=1st Armoured Cavalry Squadron -

Curragh Camp The Curragh Camp ( ga, Campa an Churraigh) is an army base and military college in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Irish Defence Forces and is home to 2,000 military personnel. History Longstanding ...

1st Cavalry Squadron - Cork
2nd Cavalry Squadron -

Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...

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Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...

, identification_symbol_label=Headdress , identification_symbol_2= Defense Forces Cavalry Corps Flag (Ireland)

, identification_symbol_2_label=Flag , website= , identification_symbol_4 = CAV , identification_symbol_4_label = Abbreviation Cav Shoot Glen of Imaal (11797924186) (2)

Cav Shoot Glen of Imaal (11797924186) (2)

The Cavalry Corps (CAV) ( ga, An Cór Marcra) is one of the combat support corps of the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

. In peacetime, the Cavalry carries out various duties in Aid to the Civil Power, such as: * Border operations supporting Gardaí. * Escort duties - cash, explosives, VIP, prisoner. * Patrolling Government installations. * Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. For this, the corps is equipped with various light armoured vehicles including the Mowag Piranha and RG-32M Light Tactical Armoured Vehicle, which are utilised as part of the light cavalry mission, in support of the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

History

The Cavalry Corps traces its history to the formation of the Armoured Car Corps on 14 September 1922. Mechanised from the start, the corps utilised armoured vehicles that the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

left following the War of Independence. Following a debate on the use of the term "cavalry", and whether the word was meant to encompass horse, wheeled or tracked, the corps was renamed the Cavalry Corps in 1934. The first Landsverk L60 was delivered in 1935 and joined Ireland's only other tank a Vickers Mk. D in the 2nd Armoured Squadron. The second Landsverk L60 arrived in 1936. The Landsverk's were still in use up until the late 1960s. One L60 is preserved in running order and the other is in the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. After The Emergency, the corps established a

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

cadre equipped with the

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

, which formed the basis of the 1st Tank Squadron in 1959. This was equipped with the

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

until its disbandment in 1973. The Cavalry Corps has served in many locations on UN peacekeeping missions, including the Congo,

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, either as Cavalry groups on their own, or attached as part of a battalion group. In these deployments the Cavalry Corps were equipped with

Panhard AML The Panhard AML (''Auto Mitrailleuse Légère'', or "Light Machine Gun Car") is an armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed on a lightly armoured 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes, and is thus suitable for airborne dep ...

vehicles - prior to their retirement in 2013.

Cavalry Corps today

The Cavalry Corps today is approximately equivalent in size to a single cavalry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

; however, the

have never utilised the regimental structure (although there was an attempt during 1942 to organise units into a cavalry regiment). Instead, cavalry operates as independent

s. Today, the army has a total of three cavalry squadrons: *1st Cavalry Squadron (1 CAV) *2nd Cavalry Squadron (2 CAV) *1st Armoured Cavalry Squadron (1 ACS) The 1st, 2nd Squadrons are standard light cavalry units equipped with the Mowag Piranha AFV and other light armoured vehicles. One squadron is attached to each of the army's two infantry brigades to act as light armoured support. In addition to their regular duties, 2nd Cavalry Squadron also operates as the Presidential Motorcycle Escort, a task inherited from the

Blue Hussars The Blue Hussars, known officially as the Mounted Escort, was a ceremonial cavalry unit of the Irish Army established in 1932. It escorted the President of Ireland on state occasions, most famously to and from presidential inaugurations betwee ...

in 1948. The 1st Armoured Cavalry Squadron was formed in 1998 by the amalgamation of the 1st Armoured Car Squadron and the reformed 1st Tank Squadron. 1st Armoured Cavalry Squadron is an independent unit that is stationed at

The Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

. Disbanded (Defence Forces Re-org 2012) * 4th Cavalry Squadron, Athlone (2012) * 31st Reserve Cavalry Squadron, Cork (2012) * 54th Reserve Cavalry Squadron, Longford (2012) * 62nd Reserve Cavalry Squadron, Dublin (2012) The

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

(AR) squadrons have been integrated with the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF) units as part of the "single force concept".

Cavalry tasks

(Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition & Reconnaissance) **

CBRN Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare (including terrorism) hazards may be present. CBRN defence consi ...

(Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear) Recce **Obstacle Recce **Route Recce **Patrolling **Scouting **Observation Post (OP) Screen **Close Target Reconnaissance (CTR) **Control Measure Security & Marking **Location Recce *Security/Protective **Screens **Advance & Rear Guard **Counter Recce **Deception **Anti-Airborne **Flank Protection **Rear Area & Supply Route Security *Exploitation **Raids **Pursuit **Seize & Hold **Recce Strike **Delaying Action *Secondary **Liaison **Traffic Regulation **Escort **Communications

References

External links

The Cavalry Corps , Irish Army
{{Irish Army & Army Reserve Military of the Republic of Ireland Cavalry Corps Cavalry regiments Military units and formations established in 1934