, image = Badge of the Irish Medical Corps.svg , image_size = 200px , dates = , country = , allegiance = , 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 ...

, type =

Medical corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...

, role = Medical support , size = , 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 Defence ...

, corps_colonel = , garrison = , ceremonial_chief = , colonel_of_the_regiment = , nickname = , patron = , motto = ''Comraind Legis''
(

Middle Irish Middle Irish, sometimes called Middle Gaelic ( ga, An Mheán-Ghaeilge, gd, Meadhan-Ghàidhlig), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old Engl ...

for "equal division of healing") , colors = , march = , mascot = , battles = , notable_commanders = , anniversaries = , identification_symbol = Defense Forces Medical Corps Flag (Ireland)

Defense Forces Medical Corps Flag (Ireland)

, identification_symbol_label = Flag , website= , identification_symbol_4 = MED , identification_symbol_4_label = Abbreviation The Medical Corps (MED) ( ga, An Cór Liachta) is the

medical corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...

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 ...

, a branch of the Irish

, responsible for the provision of medical, dental and pharmaceutical support to forces while on exercise and deployment. Because it is not a fighting arm (non-combatant), under the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conv ...

, members of the corps may only use their weapons for self-defence.

Insignia

The corps has its own insignia, designed by

George Sigerson George Sigerson (11 January 1836 – 17 February 1925) was an Irish physician, scientist, writer, politician and poet. He was a leading light in the Irish Literary Revival of the late 19th century in Ireland. Doctor and scientist Sigerson was b ...

and TJ McKinney around various symbols of medicine and healing from

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later Early Irish ...

. Its badge displays the words " Óglaigh na hÉireann" (the name of the Defence Forces in Irish) on a scroll at the top. At the bottom is another scroll with the corps' motto, "Comraind Legis". This

phrase is a quotation from the '' Táin Bó Cuailgne'', and is equivalent to modern Irish "comhroinn leighis" (literally "equal division of healing"); it translates as "impartial treatment", referring to how the warring heroes

Cú Chulainn Cú Chulainn ( ), called the Hound of Ulster ( Irish: ''Cú Uladh''), is a warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh ...

and

Ferdiad Ferdiad (; also ''Fer Diad'', ''Ferdia'', ''Fear Diadh''), son of Damán, son of Dáire, of the Fir Domnann, is a warrior of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. In the ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'', Ferdiad finds himself on the side of the ...

would call a truce each night between their battles to treat each other's wounds. In the centre is a silver hand, referring to

Nuada Airgetlám In Irish mythology, Nuada or Nuadu (modern spelling: Nuadha), known by the epithet Airgetlám (Airgeadlámh, meaning "silver hand/arm"), was the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is also called Nechtan, Nuadu Necht and Elcmar, and is t ...

, the mythological chieftain of the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gae ...

who lost his hand in battle and had an artificial silver hand made to replace it, designed by

Dian Cecht In Irish mythology, Dian Cécht (Old Irish pronunciation ; also known as ''Cainte'' or ''Canta'') was the god of healing, the healer for the Tuatha Dé Danann, and son of the Dagda according to the ''Dindsenchas''. He was the father of Cu, Cet ...

, the god of healing. The scrolls are joined on each side by a staff about which a serpent is entwined. These do not represent the

rod of Aesculapius In Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius (⚕; grc, Ράβδος του Ασκληπιού, , sometimes also spelled Asklepios), also known as the Staff of Aesculapius and as the asklepian, is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god A ...

(the Graeco-Roman mythological symbol of medicine), but rather the

staff of Moses The Staff of Moses, also known as the Staff of God is a staff mentioned in the Bible and Quran as a walking stick used by Moses. According to the Book of Exodus, the staff ( ''matteh'', translated "rod" in the King James Bible) was used to produ ...

. They refer to the legend that the ancestor of the

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic langua ...

Goídel Glas In medieval Irish and Scottish legend, Goídel Glas (Latinised as Gaithelus) is the creator of the Goidelic languages and eponymous ancestor of the Gaels. The tradition can be traced to the 11th-century ''Lebor Gabála Érenn''. A Scottish varia ...

, and his people encountered the

Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

in the desert while the Israelites were suffering a plague of vipers. Goídel Glas was bitten by a viper, and Moses used his staff to cure him.

Operations

Two teams from the Central Medical Unit (CMU) took part in the response to the West African Ebola virus epidemic under

Operation Gritrock Operation Gritrock was the code name given to the British, Irish and Canadian participation in the fight against the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. In November 2015, Sierra Leone was officially declared Ebola free. More than 50 members of ...

from 2014 onward, alongside UK and Canadian military medical personnel. During 2020 and 2021, as part of Ireland's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, paramedics from the Army Medical Corps assisted in staffing ambulances with the

HSE National Ambulance Service The National Ambulance Service ( ga, An tSeirbhís Náisiúnta Otharchairr) is the statutory public ambulance service in Ireland. The service is operated by the National Hospitals Office of the Health Service Executive, the Irish national heal ...

and

Dublin Fire Brigade The Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB; ga, Briogáid Dóiteáin Átha Cliath) is the local authority fire and rescue service and ambulance service for Dublin City and the majority of the Greater Dublin Area. It is a branch of Dublin City Council. T ...

in order to increase capacity, Medical Corps personnel also formed part of the national testing and contact tracing programme, and administered vaccinations.

Disposition

During the Defence Forces re-organisation in 2012, the Medical Corps was separated into two component parts: Directorate Medical Branch, and the Central Medical Unit (CMU). Medical Branch is responsible for setting policy and guidelines, while CMU is tasked with service delivery. The CMU is broken into the following detachments, all of which are under the command of CMU HQ which is based in

St Bricin's Military Hospital St Bricin's Military Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Míleata Naomh Bricin) is a military hospital in Arbour Hill, an inner city area of Dublin, Ireland, serving members of the Irish Defence Forces and under the administration of the Army's Medical Cor ...

Dublin; *CMU 1 Bde *CMU 2 Bde *CMU DFTC * Med School DFTC

References

External links

The Medical Corps , Irish Army
{{Irish Army & Army Reserve Army medical administrative corps Military of the Republic of Ireland

Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...