The Royal Irish Artillery was an Irish regiment of the British army in the 18th century. It was formed in 1755 as The Artillery Company of Ireland. The name was changed in 1760 to The Royal Regiment of Irish Artillery. They were recruited all over

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and were trained in

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

and then in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

. Parts of the Regiment were sent to Canada in 1777 with Major General

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several batt ...

, taking part in the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. In addition, some Royal Irish Artillery gunners were shipped directly to New York under Brigadier-General James Pattison. The General's papers were reprinted by the New York State Historical Society in 1876, a detailed source of information on this subject. Pattison, being head of the British Artillery in North America during part of the American Rebellion, had much to say about his Irish. They were "his diminutive warriors", "bare breeched", "were lower than serpents". He said that they were "incorrigible, ill mannered, and unkempt". He told his recruiters to only raise units in England or Scotland and forget Ireland.{{Citation needed, date=November 2010 When a large number of new Irish gunners coming into New York deserted, Pattison wrote, "it was bad enough that they had deserted but what was worse was that the rest didn’t go with them". When asked what to do with some new but mildewed uniforms, Pattison wrote, "give them to the Irish". Yet in spite of all the derogatory remarks, the Royal Irish Artillery was awarded white leather stocks as a mark of their good gunnery. In 1801, following the Act of Union and the formation of the United Kingdom, the Royal Irish Artillery was absorbed as an integral part of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and therefore ceased to exist. They became part of the 7th Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Artillery. Buttons from the tunics of the Royal Irish Artillery have been found in Somerville, Massachusetts and upon the site of Fort George at Castin, Maine. The design of the button can still be seen on the shield at the centre of the 206 (Ulster) Battery, which is part of 105 Regiment

(Volunteers), a Territorial Army (reserve) regiment in 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 ...

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Royal Irish Artillery LineageRoyal Irish Artillery Reenactment Group62 Reserve Artillery Regiment
18th-century history of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1755 Artillery units and formations of the British Army Defunct Irish regiments of the British Army