Irish Army Infantry Corps

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=Infantry Corps


dates=September 1922-
country=Republic of Ireland
branch=Army
type=Light Infantry
role= Multiple roles
size= 18 Battalions, Including reserve.

The Irish Army Infantry Corps is the largest component of the Irish Army. Infantry soldiers are regarded as operational troops who must be prepared for tactical deployment in any location at short notice. In wartime this means that they will be among the front line troops in the defence of the State. In peacetime however they can be seen daily performing operational duties in Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP) such as providing escorts to cash, prisoner or explosive shipments, patrols of vital state installations and border patrols, including check points.

The infantry corps consists of a total of eighteen battalions. Of these, nine are regular army with three assigned to each of the three brigades. The three brigades have three mirror reserve brigades, each of which have three reserve infantry battalions. A single company of the 3rd Infantry Battalion is stationed at the Defence Force Training Centre, and serves as the training unit for the Mowag APC.

The Irish Army has two major infantry units deployed overseas:
*Kosovo - a company group is deployed as part of the KFOR mission in Kosovo. It consists of an infantry company, logisitc support section and headquarters, and contains approximately 200 personnel of all ranks.
*Lebanon - a company group is deployed as part of the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon, with an infantry company, HQ and logistic support, consisting of approximately 200 personnel.

Units of the Infantry Corps

*1st Infantry Battalion
*2nd Infantry Battalion
*3rd Infantry Battalion {made up of the 30th Battalion}
*4th Infantry Battalion
*5th Infantry Battalion
*6th Infantry Battalion
*12th Infantry Battalion
*27th Infantry Battalion
*28th Infantry Battalion
*32nd Reserve Infantry Battalion {Made up of 14th; 15th and 22nd Battalions}
*33rd Reserve Infantry Battalion
*34th Reserve Infantry Battalion
*51st Reserve Infantry Battalion
*56th Reserve Infantry Battalion
*58th Reserve Infantry Battalion
*62nd Reserve Infantry Battalion {made up of 20th and 21st Battalions}
*65th Reserve Infantry Battalion {made up of 7th Battalion}
*67th Reserve Infantry Battalion

Irish infantry outside the Republic of Ireland

In addition to the Irish Army's infantry corps in the Republic, there are two regiments associated with troops from the island that are part of the British Army. Northern Ireland's TA battalion recruits mainly from within Northern Ireland. However, the Irish Guards and the Royal Irish Regiment take recruits from the whole of Ireland (although the constitution of the Republic of Ireland prohibits active recruitment by the British Army). Several other Commonwealth countries also have Irish regiments, such as the Irish Regiment of Canada and the South African Irish Regiment, which were formed from Irish immigrants and have followed Irish traditions.