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 Gurkha ...

. 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, 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 ''Faugh a Ballagh'' ( ; also written ''Faugh an Beallach'') is a battle cry of Irish origin, meaning "clear the way". The spelling is an 18th-century anglicization of the Irish language phrase ''Fág an Bealach'' , also written ''Fág a' Bealac ...

'' ( Modern Irish: ''Fág an Bealach''), derived from the

Irish Gaelic 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 th ...

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 Spai ...

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 W ...

. 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 ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...

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

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 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 ...

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 (

) 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 County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. ...

) 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 ...

) 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 The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Roya ...

(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 The West Side Boys, also known as the West Side Niggaz or the West Side Junglers, were an armed group in Sierra Leone, sometimes described as a splinter Political faction, faction of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. They captured and h ...

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 The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-te ...

and The Parachute Regiment during Operation Barras: 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 Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

at the beginning of

Operation Telic Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

in March 2003, where they carried out operations in the south of the country. Its' (now-retired)

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

, Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

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 (CGC) by the Queen in

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 Shaibah Air Base (formerly Wahda Air Base before 2003) is an Iraqi Air Force airfield in the Basrah Governorate of Iraq. History Royal Air Force use It was established by the Royal Air Force in 1920 as RAF Station Shaibah, a small and primi ...

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 (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

during HERRICK IV. In summer 2007 the Regimental Headquarters moved from St Patrick's Barracks,

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...

. Both battalions deployed to Afghanistan in 2008, as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade. The 1st battalion provided

Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) were the NATO equivalent of the United States' Embedded Training Teams and were active in Afghanistan. Countries Teams from several countries provided training and operational support to the Af ...

s (OMLTs) to assist in training the

Afghan National Army Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

(ANA) and Afghan National Police (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 on ...

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 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, from 1999 to 2021 16 Air Assault Brigade, is a formation of the British Army based in Colchester in the county of Essex. It is the Army's rapid response airborne formation and is the only brigade in the Britis ...

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 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, from 1999 to 2021 16 Air Assault Brigade, is a formation of the British Army based in Colchester in the county of Essex. It is the Army's rapid response airborne formation and is the only brigade in the Britis ...

. Its personnel are based at

Clive Barracks Clive Barracks is a military installation at Ternhill in Shropshire in Western England. History The barracks were established, on the site of the former RAF Tern Hill airfield, in 1976: they were initially named Borneo Barracks before being ren ...

Tern Hill Tern Hill, also known as Ternhill, is a village in Shropshire, England, notable as the location of the former RAF Tern Hill station, which is now operated by the British Army as Clive Barracks. The settlement is named after the River Tern whi ...

. The 2nd Battalion (2 R IRISH) is an Army Reserve infantry unit and comes under the 19th Brigade. It is headquartered at Thiepval Barracks in

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

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, Conspicuous Gallantry Cross * 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 The Elizabeth Cross is a form of recognition given to the recognised next of kin of members of the British Armed Forces killed in action or as a result of a terrorist attack after the Second World War. It bears the name of the late British mon ...

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 Mid ...

, 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 a ...

, 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 Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

, GCVO, ADC (1992–2022), who presented the regiment's colours to St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral in

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

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 *1996–2001: Gen. Sir Roger Neil Wheeler, GCB, CBE *2001–2013: Lt-Gen. Philip Charles Cornwallis Trousdell, KBE, CB *2013–2018: Brig. Joseph S.S. O'Sullivan *2018–Present: Major General

Colin Weir Major General Colin Richard James Weir, (born 2 March 1971) is a senior British Army officer. Early life and education Weir was born on 2 March 1971 in Portadown, Northern Ireland. He was educated at Portadown College, and graduated from Queen ...

DSO MBE

Order of precedence

Lineage

Alliances

* –

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

* –

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_Fla ...

* – 2nd Battalion,

Irish Regiment of Canada , colors = , identification_symbol = Caubeen , identification_symbol_label = Headdress , identification_symbol_2 = O'Saffron , identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol_4 = , ...

* –

Adelaide University Regiment Adelaide Universities Regiment (AUR) is an officer training unit of the Australian Army headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia. Currently AUR maintains a cadre staff of trained Regular and Reserve personnel who oversee and administer the tra ...

* - 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 * – Royal Gibraltar Regiment * – 1st Battalion, Punjab Regiment * – 9th Battalion,

Frontier Force Regiment The Frontier Force Regiment is one of the six infantry regiments of the Pakistan Army. They are popularly known as the ''Piffers'' in reference to their military history as the PIF (Punjab Irregular Force) of the British Indian Army, or as the ...

* – 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