Dates: 1992 -
The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) (R IRISH) is an infantry unit of the British Army and is the only remaining Irish regiment of the line.
With an antecedence reaching back to 1689, the regiment was formed in 1992. The creation followed the Options for Change proposals which recommended through 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 a regiment with eleven battalions:
* Regular Army - General Service
o 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
o 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
* Territorial Army
o 4th Battalion, Royal Irish Rangers
o 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Rangers
* Regular Army - Northern Ireland Resident Battalions (or "Home Service")
o 3rd (County Down) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
o 4th (County Fermanagh and County Tyrone) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
o 5th (County Londonderry) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
o 6th (County Armagh) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
o 7th (City of Belfast) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
o 8th (County Tyrone) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
o 9th (County Antrim) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
* Note: Northern Ireland Resident Battalion is the official Army terminology for what was previously known as the "Home Service" (a term still mistakenly used).
The Northern Ireland Resident Battalions filled the role formerly occupied by the UDR; conducting counter-terrorism operations in Northern Ireland under Operation BANNER. The 1st and 2nd Battalions, by contrast, served worldwide as general service battalions.
Because of its size, the regiment was removed from the King’s Division and existed outside the divisions of infantry. In 1993, one of the regular battalions (2 R IRISH based in Lemgo) was disbanded. In 2001, the number of Northern Ireland Resident Battalions was reduced to three:
* 2nd Battalion - amalgamation of 7th and 9th Battalions
* 3rd Battalion - amalgamation of 3rd and 8th Battalions
* 4th Battalion - amalgamation of 4th and 5th Battalions
Forces Reunited Forum Posts involving Royal Irish Regiment
" The complete list of operational honours is below. OPERATIONAL AWARDS LIST NO 25 Honours and Awards to members of the Armed Forces for services on operations in Northern Ireland, the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo and other miscellaneous ..."
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" While I do not condone mindless violence,I can, to some extent, sympathise with the Ulster Loyalists. They have seen Blair and his government bend over backwards to placate the Republicans and have seen countless IRA terrorists released from prison without the IRA giving up their weapons. They ..."
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" evening all just in from work alan and got your message ref move to no 40 - no i didnt get lost and no i didnt post a last message on cf 39 and yes i will collect all my winnings from your bets when i arrive - should be a tidy sum hello byron and mike the banter continues unabated - what is ..."
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" Monday September 25th 2006, 6:00 pm Filed under: WW1 Military Dispatches There is absolutely no doubt that our men are still animated by the spirit of old. I came on a couple of men of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders who had been cut off at Mons. One was badly wounded, but his companion had ..."
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" Forces Reunited has received the following request from Nick Scott Plummer, a Producer at Channel 4. Please help him if you can. Here’s what he says: --------------- Hello, I’m a producer at Channel 4 News. At the moment I am working on a special ..."
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