Royal Irish Regiment (1992)

:"For the regiment of the same name, disbanded in 1922, see Royal Irish Regiment (1684-1922)"

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment)


caption=Cap Badge of the Royal Irish Regiment
dates=1 July 1992-
country=United Kingdom
branch=Army
type=Line Infantry
role=1st Battalion - Air Assault/Light Role
2nd Battalion - TA Reserve [cite web | author= | title=MOD website | url=http://www2.army.mod.uk/royalirish/index.html# | accessdaymonth=28 Nov | accessyear=2007 ]
size= Two battalions
current_commander= 1 R IRISH: Lt Col Ed Freely [cite web | author= | title=Belfast Telegraph | url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/article3084613.ece | accessdaymonth=20 Nov | accessyear=2007 ]
2 R IRISH: Lt Col Andy Cullen [cite web | author= | title=Belfast Newsletter| url=http://www.newsletter.co.uk/feature/Training-exercise-was-39a-fantastic.3246665.jp
accessdaymonth=17 Dec | accessyear=2007 ]
garrison=RHQ - Ballymena
1st Battalion - Ternhill
2nd Battalion - Portadown
ceremonial_chief=HRH The Duke of York KG KCVO ADC(P)
ceremonial_chief_label=Colonel in Chief
colonel_of_the_regiment=Lieutenant General Philip Charles Cornwallis Trousdell, KBE, CB
nickname= None
abbreviation=R IRISH
motto= "Faugh A Ballagh"
(Irish: "Clear the Way" )
colours=Green, Red, Blue
identification_symbol_3=Green
From Royal Irish Rangers
identification_symbol_3_label=Hackle
identification_symbol_4=R IRISH
identification_symbol_4_label=Abbreviation
identification_symbol_2= [http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb309/hammersfan_01/Tartans/Saffron.gifSaffron (pipes)]
identification_symbol_2_label=Tartan
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_label=Tactical Recognition Flash
march=Quick - "Killaloe"
Slow - "Eileen Alannah"
mascot=Irish Wolfhound ("Brian Boru")
battles= Kosovo War, Sierra Leone Civil War, Operation Banner, 2nd Gulf War, War in Afghanistan
notable_commanders= Lt Col Tim Collins OBE
anniversaries= Barrossa Day, 5 March; Somme Day, 1 July

The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) (R IRISH) is an infantry unit of the British Army and is the only remaining Irish regiment of the line [cite web | author= | title=MOD Website | url=http://www2.army.mod.uk/royalirish/index.html | accessdaymonth=16 Oct | accessyear=2007 ] .

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 8th Battalions
*4th Battalion - amalgamation of 4th and 5th Battalions

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 is, until Summer 2008, at St Patrick's Barracks, Ballymena.

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.

Recent deployments

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 during Operation BARRAS, with the West Side Boys suffering severe casualties in the action [cite web | author= | title=BBC Website | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/903230.stm| accessdaymonth=16 Oct | accessyear=2007 ] .

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.

The future

1st Battalion

The 1st Battalion, as part of the restructuring of the infantry, will assume a fixed role. It will become 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 [cite web | author= | title=MOD Website | url= http://www2.army.mod.uk/royalirish/index.html
accessdaymonth=16 Oct | accessyear=2007 ] [cite web | author= | title=MOD Website - support R IRISH in Afghanistan | url= http://www2.army.mod.uk/royalirish/wristbands.htm
accessdaymonth=16 Aug | accessyear=2008 ] [cite web | author= | title=MOD Website - | url= http://www.army.mod.uk/infantry/regiments/6656.aspx
accessdaymonth=04 October| accessyear=2008 ] .

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 [cite web | author= | title=BBC Website "NI soldiers getting £250m pay-off"| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4789624.stm| accessdaymonth=16 Oct | accessyear=2007 ] .

Adam Ingram, Armed Forces Minister said:

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 [cite web | author= | title=MOD Website (google cache) "Queen awards Conspicuous Gallantry Cross to the Royal Irish Regiment"| url=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| accessdaymonth=16 Oct | accessyear=2007 ] . 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 is expected to close in Summer of 2008, with the Royal Irish RHQ moving to Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn. The Royal Irish band, the largest musical ensemble in the British Army, will be transferred to the Territorial Army.

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 training for a more operational role in support of their regular counterparts.

Casualties

The Regiment has lost seven soldiers to terrorist action in Northern Ireland [cite web |author= | title=CAIN Website Index of Deaths in NI | url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/alpha/I.html| accessdaymonth=16 October | accessyear=2007] [cite web | author= | title=CAIN Website Index of Deaths in NI | url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/alpha/W.html | accessdaymonth=16 October | accessyear=2007] [cite web | author= | title=CAIN Website – Index of Deaths in NI | url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/alpha/W.html | accessdaymonth=16 October | accessyear=2007] [cite web | author= | title=CAIN Website – Index of Deaths in NI | url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/alpha/J.html | accessdaymonth=16 October | accessyear=2007] . The last to die in Northern Ireland was Corporal Trelford Withers (3 R IRISH Part-Time) - shot at his shop by IRA gunmen, Downpatrick Street, Crossgar, County Down, on 6 August 1994 and his daughter, Cpl. Claire Withers, was presented the CGC by Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the Regiment.One died in the former Yugoslavia in 1993 [cite web | author= | title=MOD Website – Balkan Fatalities | url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets/BalkansBritishFatalities.htm| accessdaymonth=16 October | accessyear=2007] .To date (September 4 2008), four have been killed in Afghanistan [cite web | author= | title=MOD Website | url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/LanceCorporalLukeMccullochKilledInAfghanistan.htm| accessdaymonth=16 October | accessyear=2007] [cite web | author= | title=MOD Website | url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/LanceCorporalPaulMuirheadKilledInAfghanistan.htm| accessdaymonth=16 October | accessyear=2007] [cite web | author= | title=MOD Website | url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/RangerAnareDraivaKilledInAfghanistan.htm| accessdaymonth=16 Oct | accessyear=2007] [cite web|url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/RangerJustinJamesCupplesKilledInAfghanistan.htm|title=Ranger Justin James Cupples|publisher=Uk MoD|quote=The Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of Ranger Justin James Cupples of 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment.] .

Operational honours

Iraq

*Corporal Trevor Raywood Coult, Military Cross [cite web | author= | title=COI Website - Awards | url=http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/detail.asp?NewsAreaID=2&ReleaseID=225588| accessdaymonth=16 October | accessyear=2007 ]
*Lieutenant Richard Gordon Deane, Military Cross [cite web | author= | title=MOD Website – Op TELIC Awards | url=http://www.operations.mod.uk/telic/ophons05/ophonslst05.htm| accessdaymonth=16 October | accessyear=2007] . Deane was attached to 1 Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment and the Platoon Commander of Johnson Beharry Victoria Cross.

Afghanistan

* Captain Douglas Ricardo Beattie, Military Cross [cite web | author= | title=Daily Telegraph | url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1536909/Armed-forces-operational-honours-15th-December-2006.html?pageNum=2
accessdaymonth=28 November | accessyear=2007]

Order of precedence

Lineage

Alliances

*CAN - The Princess Louise Fusiliers
*CAN - 2nd Battalion, The Irish Regiment of Canada
*AUS - Adelaide University Regiment
*NZL - The Canterbury, and Nelson-Marlborough and West Coast Regiment
*RSA - The South African Irish Regiment
*GIB - The Royal Gibraltar Regiment
*PAK - 1st Battalion, The Punjab Regiment
*PAK - 9th Battalion, The Frontier Force Regiment
*RN - HMS "Bulwark"

External links

* [http://www.army.mod.uk/royalirish/ Ministry of Defence Royal Irish Regiment Website]
* [http://www.army.mod.uk/hqni/defence_press_office/royal_irish_regiment.htm Headquarters Northern Ireland (HQNI) - Royal Irish Regiment article]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3198047.stm Article on Colonel Tim Collins in Iraq, "that speech" and alleged war crimes]
* [http://www.operationbanner.com/ Developing news site with forum to discuss end of Operation Banner with a R IRISH focus]
* [http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/027RIrish.htm Regiments.org site - listing the Colonels and other information]
* [http://www.2royalirish.com/index.php/ A Company, 2 R IRISH website]

References