The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and The Ulster Defence Regiment) (R IRISH) is a light infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was founded in 1992 through the amalgamation of the Royal Irish Rangers and the Ulster Defence Regiment. Their oldest predecessor, the 27th Regiment of Foot, was first raised in June 1689 to fight in the Williamite War in Ireland. Other notable regiments in their lineage include the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Royal Irish Rifles and the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's).
The motto of the regiment is Faugh A Ballagh (Modern Irish: Fág an Bealach), derived from the Irish Gaelic phrase for "Clear the Way". This originates from the Peninsular War when Sergeant Patrick Masterson of the 87th Regiment of Foot let out the cry while capturing a French Imperial Eagle at the Battle of Barrosa. The Regimental Headquarters of the Royal Irish Regiment has been Palace Barracks in County Down, Northern Ireland since moving there in 2008.
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History
With an antecedence reaching back to 1688, the regiment was formed in 1992. The creation followed the Options for Change proposals which recommended 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 an overwhelmingly Ulster Protestant 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 (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 (former 2nd/11th Battalion UDR)
7th (City of Belfast) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
8th (County Tyrone) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
9th (County Antrim) 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), in Northern Ireland during Operation Banner. The 1st and 2nd Battalions could serve worldwide as general service battalions.
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 in Lisburn.
Recruitment
The regiment recruits from Northern Ireland, and those across the UK with Irish ancestry.
Restrictions in Ireland's Defence Act make it illegal to induce, procure or persuade enlistment of any citizen of Ireland into the military of another state.
Operational honours
Iraq
Corporal Trevor Raywood Coult, Military Cross
Lieutenant Richard Gordon Deane, Military Cross.
Afghanistan
Lieutenant Colonel Colin Richard James Weir, MBE, Distinguished Service Order
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
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, a new Regimental March, composed by Chris Attrill and commissioned by Larne Borough Council, was given to the regiment on Saturday 1 November 2008 in Larne, County Antrim, 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 are carried by commissioned officers of the Royal Irish Regiment.
Colonel-in-Chief
1992–2022: Vice Admiral Prince Andrew, Duke of York,
2023–present: Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh
Regimental Colonels
Colonels of the regiment have been:
1992–1996: Gen. Sir Charles Richard Huxtable
1996–2001: Gen. Sir Roger Neil Wheeler
2001–2013: Lt-Gen. Philip Trousdell
2013–2018: Brig. Joseph S.S. O'Sullivan
2018–present: Major General Colin Weir
Alliances
United States – 101st Airborne Division
Canada – The Princess Louise Fusiliers
Canada – 2nd Battalion, Irish Regiment of Canada
Australia – Adelaide University Regiment
New Zealand - 2nd Canterbury, and Nelson-Marlborough and West Coast Regiment
South Africa – Andrew Mlangeni Regiment
Gibraltar – Royal Gibraltar Regiment
Pakistan – 1st Battalion, Punjab Regiment
Pakistan – 9th Battalion, Frontier Force Regiment
Royal Navy – HMS Bulwark