Royal Irish Regiment (1684–1922)
18th Regiment of Foot 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot Royal Irish Regiment | |
---|---|
Active | 1684–1922 |
Disbanded | 1922 |
Country | Kingdom of Ireland (1684–1800) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry |
Role | Line infantry |
Size | 2 Regular battalions 3 Militia and Special Reserve battalions |
Garrison/HQ | Kickham Barracks, Clonmel |
Nickname(s) | The Namurs, Paddy's Blackguards |
Motto(s) | Virtutis Namurcensis Praemium (Reward for Valour at Namur) |
Colors | Royal Blue |
March | Quick: Garry Owen |
Engagements | Second Boer War |
The Royal Irish Regiment, until 1881 the 18th Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, first raised in 1684. Also known as the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 18th (The Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot, it was one of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, its home depot in Clonmel.[1] It saw service for two and a half centuries before being disbanded with the Partition of Ireland following establishment of the independent Irish Free State in 1922 when the five regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in the counties of the new state were disbanded.[2]
History
Formation to end 19th century
The regiment was formed in 1684 by the
As part of the
The war ended with the 1713
Based in Ireland for most of the Seven Years' War, in July 1767 it arrived in North America and spent the next eight years on garrison duty in Philadelphia and different parts of Illinois.[8] When the American War of Independence began in April 1775, most of the unit was in Boston; for the first time in over 50 years, it saw action at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill.[9] Boston was abandoned in early 1776 and the regiment evacuated to Nova Scotia, where many of its men were drafted into other units, then to Dover Castle in England.[10]
In 1782, it moved to
The 19th century
The regiment also saw action at the Battle of Alexandria in March 1801.[13] The 1st Battalion served in Jamaica and the 2nd Battalion served in Curaçao during the Napoleonic Wars.[14]
On 19 November 1807, 120 members of the 18th Regiment of Foot were drowned when
The 2nd Battalion, which was re-formed on 18 September 1857, began to arrive in New Zealand from 4 July 1863 and served in the Waikato and Taranaki campaigns of the New Zealand Wars.[21] Captain Hugh Shaw won the Victoria Cross when he rescued wounded soldiers during a skirmish at Nukumaru near Whanganui.[22]
The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the
The 1st Battalion was stationed in British India and Afghanistan from 1875 to 1884, when it were transferred to Egypt to take part in the Nile Expedition. It was back in home barracks from 1885 to 1891, then in Ireland until it was sent to South Africa as part of reinforcements for the Second Boer War in late 1899.[27] The battalion took part in several battles, and played an important role at the Battle of Slabbert's Nek in July 1900 during the war.[28]
The 2nd Battalion saw action in Egypt during the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882.[21] From 1884 it was stationed at Malta, then in India where it had various postings, including the last in Kamptee until it returned home in late 1902.[29]
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the
First World War
Regular Army
The 1st Battalion landed at
The 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, largely made up from local Dubliners, were the first army troops to engage the Irish rebels during the Easter Rising: the rebels were fighting to establish an Irish Republic in Dublin.[35] Eight of the Royal Irish Regiment were killed and sixteen more wounded.[36] Some of these are buried in Grangegorman Military Cemetery. A Royal Irish Regiment officer reported that "they regarded, not unreasonably, everyone they saw as an enemy, and fired at anything that moved".[37]
New Armies
The 5th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers) landed in
Disbandment
Due to substantial defence cuts and the establishment of the
Battle honours
The battle honours of the regiment were:[3]
- Early Wars: Namur 1695, Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Egypt, China, Pegu, Sevastopol, New Zealand, Afghanistan (1879–80), Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882, Nile (1884–85), South Africa (1900–02)
- The Great War: Mons, Le Cateau, Palestine 1917–18
Victoria Crosses
The following members of the Regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross:
- Captain Thomas Esmonde, Crimean War
- Captain Hugh Shaw, New Zealand Wars
- Private John Barry, Second Boer War
- Private (Acting Lance-Corporal) Frederick George Room, First World War
Great War memorials
The following are memorials of the
- Irish National War Memorial Gardens, Dublin.
- Island of Ireland Peace Park Messines, Belgium.
- Ulster Tower MemorialThiepval, France.
- Menin Gate MemorialYpres, Belgium.
- Regimental Cross, La Bascule, Mons
Colonels
The colonels of the regiment were:[3]
- Earl of Granard's Regiment of Foot
- 1684–1686: Lt-Gen. The 1st Earl of Granard
- 1686–1688: Col. Viscount Forbes (The 2nd Earl of Granard from 1696)
- 1688–1689: Col. Sir John Edgeworth
- 1689–1692: Col. The 4th Earl of Meath
- 1692–1705: Major-Gen. Frederick Hamilton
- Royal Regiment of Foot of Ireland - (1695)
- 1705–1712: Lt-Gen. Richard Ingoldsby
- 1712–1717: Brig-Gen. Robert Stearne
- 1717–1732: Brig-Gen. William Cosby
- 1732–1735: Brig-Gen. Sir Charles Hotham, 5th Baronet
- 1735–1742: Major-Gen. John Armstrong
- 1742–1747: Gen. Sir John Mordaunt KB
- 1747–1762: Lt-Gen. John Folliott
- 18th (The Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot - (1751)
- 1762–1794: Gen. Sir John Sebright, 6th Baronet
- 1794–1811: Gen. Sir James Pulteney, 7th Bt[42]
- 1811–1832: Gen. Baron Hutchinsonup until 1825), KB
- 1832–1850: Gen. The 5th Baron Aylmer, GCB
- 1850–1877: F.M. Sir John Forster FitzGerald GCB
- 1877–1882: Lt-Gen. Clement Alexander Edwards CB
- The Royal Irish Regiment - (1881)
- 1882–1886: Gen. Sir Alexander Macdonell KCB
- 1886–1889: Gen. Sir Richard Denis Kelly KCB
- 1889–1895: Gen. George Frederick Stevenson Call CB
- 1895: Lt-Gen. Walter McLeod Fraser
- 1895–1897: Lt-Gen. Sir Henry Marshman Havelock-Allan, Bt, VC, GCB
- 1897–1918: Major-Gen. Charles Frederick Gregorie, CB
- 1918–1922: Major-Gen. John Burton Forster CB
References
- Leinster Regiment Depot Birr, Royal Munster Fusiliers Depot Tralee, Royal Dublin Fusiliers Depot Naas.
- ^ Murphy, p. 30 quote: "Following the treaty that established the independent Irish Free State in 1922, it was decided to disband the regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in southern Ireland: The Royal Irish Regiment; The Connaught Rangers; The Prince of Wales' Leinster Regiment; The Royal Munster Fusiliers; The Royal Dublin Fusiliers; The South Irish Horse"
- ^ a b c d e f "The Royal Irish Regiment". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 January 2006. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - S2CID 159682220.
- ^ Dalton, Charles (1904). English army lists and commission registers, 1661-1714 Volume IV. Eyre & Spottiswood. p. 85.
- ^ Cannon, Richard (1848). Historical record of the 18th or the Royal Irish Regiment of Foot. Parker Furnival Parker. pp. 26–33.
- ^ Cannon, p.xxx
- ^ Cannon, p. 47
- ^ Cannon, p. 48
- ^ Cannon, p. 49
- ^ Duncan, p. 163
- ^ Cannon, p. 50
- ^ Cannon, p. 58
- ^ Cannon, p. 61
- ^ "Rochdale and Prince of Wales". On-line Journal of Research on Irish Maritime History. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ^ Cannon, p. 69
- ^ Cannon, p. 70
- ^ Cannon, p. 72
- ^ Cannon, p. 74
- ^ "No. 22043". The London Gazette. 25 September 1857. p. 3194.
- ^ a b c "Royal Irish Regiment". National Army Museum. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ^ "No. 23044". The London Gazette. 28 November 1865. p. 6005.
- ^ "The Kickham Army Barracks Master Plan" (PDF). Tipperary Cpounty Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ "Training Depots 1873–1881". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) The depot was the 69th Brigade Depot from 1873 to 1881, and the 18th Regimental District depot thereafter - ^ "No. 24992". The London Gazette. 1 July 1881. pp. 3300–3301.
- ^ Harris, pp. 2–3
- ^ Hart′s Army list, 1903
- ^ "Royal Irish Regiment". Anglo-Boer War. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence - The Army in India". The Times. No. 36896. London. 11 October 1902. p. 12.
- ^ "Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 31 March 1908. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- ^ These were the 3rd Battalion (Special Reserve) and the 4th Battalion (Special Reserve).
- ^ "4th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment". Remembering The Dead Of World War 1.
- ^ a b c d e "Royal Irish Regiment". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Irish Soldiers in the Battle of the Somme". Department of the Taoiseach. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ Caulfield, pp. 76–80
- ^ Sinn Féin Rebellion Handbook. 1917. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help)CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ McGarry, p. 184
- ^ Army Order 78/1922
- ^ Murphy, p. 30
- ^ Harris, p. 209
- ^ Cottrell, p. 23
- ^ "No. 13627". The London Gazette. 25 February 1794. p. 180.
Sources
- Baule, Steven (2013). Protecting the Empire's Frontier: Officers of the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot During Its North American Service, 1767–1776 (PDF). Ohio University Press. ISBN 9780821420553.
- Cannon, Richard (1848). Historical Record of the Eighteenth, or Royal Irish Regiment of Foot. London: Parker, Furnivall and Parker.
- Caulfield, Max (1995). The Easter Rebellion: The Outstanding Narrative History of the 1916 Rising in Ireland. Roberts Rinehart Publishers. ISBN 978-1570980428.
- Cottrell, Peter (2008). The Irish Civil War 1922–23. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-270-7.
- Duncan, Jonathan (1841). The History of Guernsey with Occasional Notices of Jersey, Alderney and Sark and biographical sketches. Longman.
- Harris, Major Henry E. D. (1968). The Irish Regiments in the First World War. Mercer Press Cork. ISBN 978-0853420729.
- McGarry, Fearghal (2010). The Rising: Ireland, Easter 1916. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280186-9.
- Murphy, David (2007). Irish Regiments in the World Wars. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1846030154.
Further reading
- Geoghegan, Brigadier-General Stannus, C.B. (1927). The Campaigns and History of the Royal Irish Regiment Volume 2 from 1900 to 1922. William Blackwood and Sons Ltd Edinburgh and London. ISBN 978-1847347473.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Gretton, Lieutenant Colonel G. le M. (1911). The Campaigns and History of the Royal Irish Regiment From 1684 to 1902. William Blackwood and Sons Ltd Edinburgh and London.