The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and The Ulster Defence Regiment) (R IRISH) is an

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 ...

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 ...

of 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 ...

. The regiment was founded in 1992 through the amalgamation of the

Royal Irish Rangers The Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd and 87th) was a regular infantry regiment of the British Army with a relatively short existence, formed in 1968 and later merged with the Ulster Defence Regiment in 1992 to form the Royal Iris ...

and the

Ulster Defence Regiment The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...

. Their oldest predecessor, the

27th Regiment of Foot The 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot was an Irish infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1689. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 108th (Madras Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 188 ...

, was first raised in June 1689 to fight in the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

. Other notable regiments in their lineage include the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

Royal Irish Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County D ...

and the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's). The motto of the regiment is '' Faugh A Ballagh'' (

Modern Irish Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was t ...

: ''Fág an Bealach''), derived from the Irish Gaelic phrase for "Clear the Way". This originates from the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

when Ensign Edward Keogh of the 87th Regiment of Foot let out the cry while capturing a

French Imperial Eagle The French Imperial Eagle (''Aigle de drapeau'', lit. "flag eagle") refers to the figure of an eagle on a staff carried into battle as a standard by the ''Grande Armée'' of Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars. Although they were presented with ...

at the

Battle of Barrosa The Battle of Barrosa (Chiclana, 5 March 1811, also known as the Battle of Chiclana or Battle of Cerro del Puerco) was part of an unsuccessful manoeuvre by an Anglo-Iberian force to break the French siege of Cádiz during the Peninsular Wa ...

. The Regimental Headquarters of the Royal Irish Regiment has been

Palace Barracks Palace Barracks, Holywood is a British Army installation in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. History Palace Barracks occupies the site of a palatial house known as "Ardtullagh", the home of the Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore until i ...

in County Down,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

since moving there in 2008.

History

With an antecedence reaching back to 1688, the regiment was formed in 1992. The creation followed the

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces, ...

proposals which recommended the amalgamation of the

and the

(UDR). Most of the membership of the new regiment came from the UDR. This produced an overwhelmingly

Ulster Protestant Ulster Protestants ( ga, Protastúnaigh Ultach) are an ethnoreligious group in the Irish province of Ulster, where they make up about 43.5% of the population. Most Ulster Protestants are descendants of settlers who arrived from Britain in the ...

regiment with eleven

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

s: *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 (Home Service) **3rd ( County Down) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment **4th (

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...

and

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...

) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment **5th ( County Londonderry) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment **6th (

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...

) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment (former 2nd/11th Battalion UDR) **7th ( City of Belfast) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment **8th (

) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment **9th (

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment The Home Service battalions, permanently based in Northern Ireland, filled the role formerly occupied by the UDR, assisting the Royal Ulster Constabulary (with a focus on combating militant

Irish republicanism Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

), in

during

Operation Banner Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007, as part of the Troubles. It was the longest continuous deployment in British military history. The British Army was initial ...

. The 1st and 2nd Battalions could serve worldwide as general service battalions. Because of its size, the regiment was removed from the

King's Division The King's Division was a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for infantry regiments in the North of England. History The King's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Lancastrian Brigade, Yorkshi ...

and existed within its own division of infantry. In August 1993, the two regular battalions were amalgamated as the 1st battalion. In 2000 in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

, whilst deployed to train government troops, eleven Royal Irish soldiers and their local army liaison officer were captured by the West Side Boys

insurgents An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...

. Five hostages were later released and the remaining six were freed by the Special Air Service and The Parachute Regiment during

Operation Barras Operation Barras was a British Army operation that took place in Sierra Leone on 10 September 2000, during the late stages of Sierra Leone Civil War, the nation's civil war. The operation aimed to release five British soldiers of the Royal Ir ...

: with the West Side Boys suffering severe casualties in the action. The 1st Battalion deployed to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

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, Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for distinguished service. The number of Home Service battalions were reduced to three by April 2003: *2nd Battalion – amalgamation of 7th and 9th Battalions *3rd Battalion – amalgamation of 3rd and 8th Battalions *4th Battalion – amalgamation of 4th and 5th Battalions In 2005, the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

announced an end to its armed campaign. In response the British government announced the end of Operation Banner, and with it the disbandment of the Home Service battalions. A redundancy package was announced in March 2006. The Home Service battalions were awarded the

Conspicuous Gallantry Cross The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) is a second level military decoration of the British Armed Forces. Created in 1993 and first awarded in 1995, it was instituted after a review of the British honours system to remove distinctions of rank in t ...

(CGC) by

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

on 6 October 2006. The home service battalions were declared non-operational in October 2006, and disbanded in July 2007. At the same time, the

, then serving as the TA battalion, was renamed as 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment. The 1st Battalion returned from six months in Iraq on Op TELIC VI/VII in May 2006 having served in the 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. Three platoons of the 1st Battalion (Barrosa, Somme and Ranger Platoons) deployed to Afghanistan in 2006, as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade and supported 3rd Parachute Regiment, the latter forming 9 Platoon, C Coy, 3 PARA. They were involved in some of the heaviest fighting during HERRICK IV. Lance Corporal Paul Muirhead, Lance Corporal Luke McCulloch and Fijian Ranger Anare Draiva were killed by the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

during HERRICK IV. In summer 2007 the Regimental Headquarters moved from

St Patrick's Barracks St Patrick's Barracks was a military installation in Ballymena. History The site was requisitioned by the War Office and the barracks were put into use as the depot of the Royal Ulster Rifles, who had relocated from Victoria Barracks, Belfast, Vi ...

, Ballymena to

. Both battalions deployed to Afghanistan in 2008, as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade. The 1st battalion provided Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) to assist in training the Afghan National Army (ANA) and

Afghan National Police The Afghan National Police (ANP; ps, د افغانستان ملي پولیس; prs, پلیس ملی افغانستان), is the national police force of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, serving as a single law enforcement agency all across ...

(ANP), and the 2nd battalion were the first Territorial Army company strength grouping to provide OMLT training from NATO forces. They were also the first TA Company to fully man

Forward Operating Base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may or may not contain an airfield, hospital, machine ...

s (FOBs) within the

green zone The Green Zone ( ar, المنطقة الخضراء, translit=al-minṭaqah al-ḫaḍrā) is the most common name for the International Zone of Baghdad. It was a area in the Karkh district of central Baghdad, Iraq, that was the governmental ...

. One company of the 1st Battalion, attached to 2 PARA, named Ranger Company, undertook offensive operations in the

Sangin Sangin ( ps, سنگين) is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 20,000 people. It is located on in the valley of the Helmand River at altitude, to the north-east of Lashkargah. Sangin is notorious as o ...

area of Helmand Province. The 1st Battalion lost Ranger Justin Cupples to an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mecha ...

(IED) during HERRICK VIII. Both battalions again deployed with 16 Air Assault Brigade to Afghanistan on HERRICK XIII from September 2010. Based in the southern part of Helmand, they lost Lance Corporal Stephen McKee, Ranger Aaron McCormick and Ranger David Dalzell during HERRICK XIII. Under the Defence in a Competitive Age programme and subsequent Future Soldier, the 1st Battalion will transfer to the 16 Air Assault Brigade.

Current structure

The 1st Battalion (1 R IRISH) is a Light Recce Strike Infantry unit and comes under the 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team. Its personnel are based at Clive Barracks in Tern Hill. The 2nd Battalion (2 R IRISH) is an Army Reserve infantry unit and comes under the 19th Brigade. It is headquartered at

Thiepval Barracks Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, County Antrim, is the headquarters of the British Army in Northern Ireland and its 38th (Irish) Brigade. History The barracks were built in 1940. They are named after the village of Thiepval in Northern France, an im ...

in Lisburn.

Operational honours

Iraq

*Corporal Trevor Raywood Coult,

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

*Lieutenant Richard Gordon Deane, Military Cross.

Afghanistan

* Lieutenant Colonel Colin Richard James Weir, MBE,

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

* Lance Corporal Ratu Apenisa Qalitakivuna, Military Cross * Acting Sergeant Alwyn John Stevens,

* Corporal Robert William Kerr McClurg, Conspicuous Gallantry Cross * Lance Corporal Jone Bruce Toge, Conspicuous Gallantry Cross * Captain Douglas Ricardo Beattie, Military Cross * Captain David Bradley Rainey, Military Cross * Lieutenant Paul David McFarland, Military Cross * Sergeant Stephen McConnell, Military Cross * Ranger Alan William Owens, Military Cross

Elizabeth Cross and Memorial Scrolls

Up to May 2010, 32 Elizabeth Cross and Memorial Scrolls have been issued to the families of Royal Irish personnel.

Traditions

In memory of a 2006 battle in the Afghan town of

Musa Qala ; "Fortress of Moses") is a town and the district centre of Musa Qala District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is located at and at an altitude of 1,043 m in the valley of Musa Qala River in the central western part of the district. Its pop ...

, a new Regimental March, composed by Chris Attrill and commissioned by

Larne Borough Council Larne Borough Council was a Local Council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymena Borough Council and Carrickfergus Borough Council in May 2015 under the reorganisation of local government in Northern Ireland to become Mi ...

, was given to the regiment on Saturday 1 November 2008 in

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid ...

, 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''. The uniform combines elements of the uniform of the Royal Irish Rangers with the harp-and-crown cap badge of the Ulster Defence Regiment. Sticks made of

Blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...

are carried by commissioned officers of the Royal Irish Regiment.

Colonel-in-Chief

* The Duke of York,

GCVO The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

, ADC (1992–2022), who presented the regiment's colours to St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh on 16 June 2001: there is a plaque commemorating this event in the south aisle.

Regimental Colonels

Colonels of the regiment have been: *1992–1996: Gen. Sir Charles Richard Huxtable, KCB,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

*1996–2001: Gen. Sir Roger Neil Wheeler, GCB,

*2001–2013: Lt-Gen. Philip Charles Cornwallis Trousdell, KBE, CB *2013–2018: Brig. Joseph S.S. O'Sullivan *2018–Present: Major General Colin Weir DSO MBE

Order of precedence

Lineage

Alliances

* – 101st Airborne Division * –

The Princess Louise Fusiliers The Princess Louise Fusiliers is a Primary Reserve light infantry regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces. Lineage File:Regimental Colour of the Princess Louise Fusiliers.jpg, Regimental Colour of the Princess Louise Fusiliers File:Camp_Flag_ ...

* – 2nd Battalion, Irish Regiment of Canada * – Adelaide University Regiment * - 2nd

Canterbury, and Nelson-Marlborough and West Coast Regiment The Canterbury, and Nelson-Marlborough and West Coast Regiment was a Territorial Force (Army Reserve) unit of the New Zealand Army. Formation and recent history The regiment was formed in 1964 during the reorganisation of the army by the amalga ...

* –

Andrew Mlangeni Regiment The Andrew Mlangeni Regiment (formerly South African Irish Regiment) is a reserve infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origins Although all the regular units of Irish origin in the British Army have served in South Africa at s ...

* – Royal Gibraltar Regiment * – 1st Battalion, Punjab Regiment * – 9th Battalion, Frontier Force Regiment * – HMS ''Bulwark''

References

External links

Official siteRIR Association
{{British Infantry 1992 establishments in the United Kingdom Infantry regiments of the British Army Irish regiments of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1992 Military units and formations of the Iraq War Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Irish regiments