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The Battle Honour SALAMANCA is emblazoned on the Regimental Colours of The Royal Irish Regiment.
Both the ‘Young Inniskillings’ (the 3/27th) and the 2/83rd Regiment of Foot took part in the Battle of Salamanca on 22 July 1812. Also in action were the 88th and 94th Regiment of Foot, both destined to be amalgamated as the Connaught Rangers in 1881.
‘Their attack was one of the finest displays of human courage in the world’
The Battle Honour SOMME 1916,’18 is emblazoned on the King's Colour of The Royal Irish Regiment and the following describes the events of the first day of the 140 days Somme Offensive, 1 July – 18 November 1916.
The Battle Honour SOUTH AFRICA 1899-1902 is emblazoned on the Regimental Colours of The Royal Irish Regiment.
This distinction was one of only six Battle Honours authorized for the Second Anglo-Boer War that began on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Our antecedent Regiments awarded the South Africa distinction were:
The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
The Royal Irish Rifles
The Royal Irish Fusiliers
The Battle Honour TALAVERA is emblazoned on The Regimental Colours of The Royal Irish Regiment.
The 2/83rd and the 2/87th Regiments both fought at Talavera, one of the earliest battles in the Peninsular War. The almost 53,000 strong Anglo-Spanish Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley,* moved to the north of Talavera, some 120kms to the southwest of Madrid, Spain, on 27 July 1809. Major General Mackenzie's 3rd Division with cavalry was forward covering the movement of the Allies.
The Battle Honour TARIFA is emblazoned on the Regimental Colours of The Royal Irish Regiment.
Towards the end of 1811, the Spanish based at the fort of Tarifa were impeding French operations in southern Spain. When the French prepared to capture the fort, Wellington decided to reinforce his Spanish allies. The 2nd Battalion of the 87th Regiment of Foot sailed from Cadiz as part of Colonel Skerrett's reinforcing brigade and landed at Tarifa on 15 October. The French began their siege, with a force of 10,000, on 20 December 1811.
The Battle Honour TOULOUSE is emblazoned on the Regimental Colours of The Royal Irish Regiment.
After the Battle of Orthez on 27 February 1814, Marshal Soult, the French commander, withdrew northwards. The Duke of Wellington and the Allied Army followed in hot pursuit as the French Army of Spain withdrew through the Languedoc to the fortified city of Toulouse. Most of the city was situated on the east bank of the River Garonne, although Soult maintained a bridgehead to the fortified suburb of St Cyprien on the west bank.
The Battle Honour WATERLOO is emblazoned on the Regimental Colours of The Royal Irish Regiment.
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot was the only Irish infantry regiment of the British Army that fought at the Battle of Waterloo.
The Battle Honour YENANGYAUNG 1942, awarded to The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and carried forward by The Royal Irish Rangers, is now emblazoned on the King's Colour of The Royal Irish Regiment.
The Battle Honour ARRAS 1917 is emblazoned on the King's Colour of The Royal Irish Regiment and was awarded for actions during the Battle of Arras, 9 April - 4 May 1917.
The Battle Honour BARROSA is emblazoned on the Regimental Colours of The Royal Irish Regiment. The Battle of Barrosa is marked each year as a Regimental Day in The Royal Irish Regiment.
