Dates: 1900 -

The Irish Guards (Irish: Garda na hEireann ) (IG), part of the Guards Division, is a regiment of the British Army.

Along with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of only two purely Irish regiments remaining in the British Army. The Irish Guards recruit in Northern Ireland, the Irish neighbourhoods of major British cities, the Republic of Ireland. (The latter permits its citizens to enlist in the British forces, but forbids active recruiting.) More recently, the regiment has seen some truly "non-traditional" recruits, notably Zimbabwean Christopher Muzvuru, who qualified as a piper before becoming one of the regiment’s two fatal casualties in Iraq in 2003.

Irish Guards officers tend to be drawn from the ranks of graduates of British public schools, particularly those with a Roman Catholic affiliation, such as Ampleforth College, Downside School and Stonyhurst College. Catholic foreign royals or aristocrats, even those with no Irish connection, have often found a home in the Irish Guards. An example is Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

One way to distinguish between the regiments of Foot Guards is the spacing of buttons on the tunic. The Irish Guards have buttons arranged in groups of four. They also have a prominent blue plume on the right side of their bear skins.

Memories of Irish Guards

Irish Guards, Dusseldorf in 1963
Written by John Tooke
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"While serving in Germany, myself,Joe Williamson, Jimmy (Benny) Hill, formed a ’Group’ and we played for various ’Messes’, clubs and civilian bars..Good times!"

Forces Reunited Forum Posts involving Irish Guards

"1ST BATTALION IRISH GUARDS "

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" are you looking for me, KEVIN TREACY late IRISH GUARDS, SINCE 1977. "

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" Quoting: Hughes AND why oh why are BRITISH squaddies getting charged for War Crimes   What the feck is going on This is why - notice how all killed were actually in a prison and not on a so called "battlefield" whatever happened to the Geneva Convention that we used to ..."

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" Quoting: Kelly This is why - notice how all killed were actually in a prison and not on a so called "battlefield" whatever happened to the Geneva Convention that we used to get rammed down our throats by our commanders? Those charged in connection with this case are: :: Corporal Donald ..."

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" British soldiers will refuse to serve in Iraq if they face the threat of being prosecuted for war crimes, serving and former service personnel warned last night. A number of non-commissioned officers who spoke to the Guardian on condition of anonymity - they are forbidden from talking to the ..."

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