Explore Listing
The Rev Dan Kelleher, Padre to the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Fusiliers, was awarded the Military Cross for his actions near Monte Cassino, Italy. To read more about the Faughs' Padre, please click on Dan Kelleher MBE MC.
As the French Maginot Line did not extend along the Belgian border, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was deployed on this vulnerable left flank. On 4 May 1940, the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Fusiliers (1st Faughs) moved to Amiens to become part of 25 Infantry Brigade which then moved on 17 May into reserve across the Belgian border. The British and French had advanced forward to the River Dyle (in Belgium) following the German invasion of the Low Countries.
The Fermanagh Battalion was raised in 1793 with Lord Enniskillen as its Colonel. It was embodied for service in Ireland from then until 1816. Since the records of the unit were lost or destroyed, only a little information about its activities during that period is available. In September 1793, not long after the battalion was raised, it was deployed as part of a force of about 400 that included regular cavalry, artillery and infantry to deal with a demonstration that failed to materialise in a village about 10 miles from Belfast.
When the framework of fortified block-houses was developed in 1901 to protect British supply lines and dominate occupied Boer territory, the infantry manning them were quick to escape the monotony of static duties by volunteering for more mobile action with, for example, specially formed units of Mounted Infantry.
On 27 and 28 December 1917, the 2nd and the 5th/6th Battalion The Royal Irish Fusiliers continued as part of 31 Brigade (10th Irish Division) in General Allenby's advance against the Turks.
The Final Advance in Flanders included:
-
Battle of Ypres, 28 September - 2 October.
-
Battle of Courtrai, 14 - 19 October.
Included:
- Battle of the Selle, 17 - 25 October.
- Battle of Valenciennes, 1 - 2 November.
- Battle of the Sambre, including Passage of the Grande Honelle (5 - 7 November), Capture of Mons (11 November).
To mark the final chapter in the history of The Royal Irish Rangers, the 1st and the 2nd Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment trooped the Colours of their old regiment in Happy Valley, Cyprus, on Friday, 24 September 1993 for the last time.
The 1st/9th and the 7th/10th Battalion of The Ulster Defence Regiment were called out in response to a number of car-bomb attacks in Belfast City centre.
This was the last time that battalions of the Ulster Defence Regiment were called out before the Regiment was amalgamated with The Royal Irish Rangers to form The Royal Irish Regiment.
