This article is about the regiment in the British Army. For the Notre Dame marching band contingent, see Irish Guard.
Foot Guards, wearing bearskins, march to the Cenotaph on 12 June 2005 for a service of remembrance for Irish troops. Their uniform buttons are in groups of four, identifying these soldiers as Irish Guards
The Irish Guards (Irish: Garda na hÉireann ) (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.
History
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Uniform, Motto, Nicknames, Mascot and Traditions
Uniform
Like the other Guards regiments, the "Home Service Dress" of the Irish Guards is a scarlet tunic and bearskin. Buttons are worn in two rows of four, reflecting the regiment's position as the fourth most senior Guards regiment, and the collar is adorned with a shamrock on either side. They also sport a blue plume on the right side of the bearskin.
A blue, rather than an Irish green, plume was selected because blue is the color of the mantle and sash of the Knights of St. Patrick, Ireland's order of chivalry, from which the regiment draws its capstar and motto. Also, the uniform of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, which were still in existence at the time the Irish Guards were formed, was a scarlet tunic and bearskin with a green plume. To prevent confusion, the Irish Guards opted for a blue plume.
In "walking out dress", the Irish Guards can be identified by the green band on their forage caps. Officers also traditionally carry an Irish blackthorn walking stick. Drummers and flautists, in common with the other Guards regiments, wear a distinctive tunic adorned with winged epaulets and white lace.
The uniform of the Irish Guards pipers is, like the Scots Guards, a kilt and tunic, yet is also very different. Irish pipers wear saffron kilts rather than tartan, green hose with saffron flashes and heavy black shoes known as brogues with no spats, a rifle green doublet with buttons in fours and a floppy Irish beret known as a caubeen rather than a feather bonnet. The regimental capstar is worn over the piper's right eye and is topped by a blue hackle. A green cloak with four silver buttons is worn over the shoulders and is secured by two green straps that cross over the chest, but is never buttoned except in severely inclement weather. A white tunic is available for wear in the tropics, in which case the cloak is dispensed with. The pipe major, like the pipe major of the Scots Guards, also holds a warrant as personal piper to Her Majesty, the Queen.
Motto
The regiment takes its motto, "Quis Separabit", or "Who shall separate us?" from the Order of St. Patrick, which is currently in abeyance.
Nickname
The Irish Guards are known affectionately throughout the Army as "the Micks." An earlier nickname, "Bob's Own", after Field Marshal Lord Roberts, their first colonel, has fallen into disuse.
Mascot
Since 1902, an Irish Wolfhound has been presented as a mascot to the regiment by the members of the Irish Wolfhound Club, who hoped the publicity would increase the breed's popularity with the public.
The first mascot was called Brian Boru, after Ireland's great national hero. There have been 12 more since, all named after Irish High Kings or heroes. In 1961, the wolfhound was admitted to the select club of "official" Army mascots, entitling him to the services of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, as well as quartering and food at public expense. Originally, the mascot was in the care of a drummer boy, but is now looked after by one of the regiment's drummers and his family. The Irish Guards are the only Guards regiment permitted to have their mascot lead them on parade. During Trooping the Colour, however, the mascot marches only from Chelsea Barracks as far as Horse Guards Parade. He then falls out of the formation and does not participate in the trooping itself.
Since the accidental death in 2007 of Fergal, the incumbent, the Irish Guards have a new mascot being prepared for public duties.[1].
Traditions and Affiliations
St. Patrick's Day is the traditional regimental holiday (although Orangemen's Day, the Twelfth of July, is also marked with gusto). Fresh shamrock is presented to the members of the regiment, no matter where it is stationed. Except in wartime, the presentation is traditionally made by a member of the Royal Family. This task was first performed in 1901 by HM Queen Alexandra and later by HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Since the latter's death, the presentation has been made by the Princess Royal. On the regiment's 50th anniversary in 1950, King George VI made the presentation in person. In 1989, the Queen Mother was unable to make the journey to Belize, where the battalion was stationed, and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg substituted for her.
The regiment is also associated with HMS Portland, as well as the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.
Battle honours
- First World War: Mons, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Ypres 1914 1917, Langemarck 1914, Battle of Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 1918, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Pilckem, Poelcapelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 and 1918, St. Quentin, Lys, Hazebrouck, Albert 1918, Bapaume 1918, Arras 1918, Scarpe 1918, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914–18
- Second World War:
- North-West Europe: Pothus, Norway 1940, Boulogne 1940, Cagny, Mont Pincon, Neerpelt, Nijmegen, Aam, Rhineland, Hochwald, Rhine, Bentheim, North-West Europe 1940 1944–45,
- North Africa: Medjez Plain, Djebel bou Aoukaz, North Africa 1943,
- Italy: Anzio, Aprilia, Carroceto, Italy 1943–44
- Al Basrah 2003, Iraq 2003
Victoria Cross winners
- Guardsman Edward Colquhoun Charlton, 2nd Battalion, The Irish Guards
- Lance-Corporal John Patrick Kenneally, 1st Battalion, The Irish Guards
- Acting Lieutenant-Colonel James Marshall, Irish Guards but attached to the 16th Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers
- Lance-Sergeant John Moyney, 2nd Battalion, The Irish Guards
- Lance-Corporal Michael O'Leary, 1st Battalion, The Irish Guards
- Private Thomas Woodcock, 2nd Battalion, The Irish Guards
Famous Members
Colonels of the Regiment
British Army regiments typically feature an honorary "colonel", often a member of the Royal Family or a prominent retired military officer with connections to the regiment, who functions as a kind of patron or guardian of the regiment's interests in high government circles. (HM the Queen is colonel-in-chief of all Guards regiments.)
The Irish Guards colonels have been:
- Field Marshal Sir Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar and Pretoria and the City of Waterford, VC, KG, KP, PC, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE. Appointed Oct. 17, 1900.
- Field Marshal Sir Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum and of Broome, KG, KP, PC, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE. Appointed Nov. 15, 1914.
- Field Marshal Sir John French, 1st Earl of Ypres and High Lake, KP, PC, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCMG, ADC. Appointed June 6, 1916.
- Field Marshal Sir Frederick Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan, KP, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, DCL, LLD, DL. Appointed May 23, 1925.
- Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis and Errigal in the County of Donegal, KG, PC, GCB, OM, GCMG, CSI, DSO, MC, CDL, LLD. Appointed Aug. 28, 1946.
- Gen. Sir Basil Oscar Paul Eugster, KCB, KCVO, CBE, DSO, MC, MA. Appointed June 17, 1969.
- Gen. HRH Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, KG. Appointed Aug. 21, 1984.
- HG James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn, KG. Appointed Nov. 1, 2000.
- Maj. Gen. Sir Sebastian Roberts, KCVO, OBE. Appointed March 17, 2008.
Order of Precedence
Alliances
References
- ^ Irish Wolfhound Society
- "Europe's Last VC - Guardsman Edward Charlton", After the Battle (magazine) No. 49, 1985. Contains additional memoirs of the surviving Irish Guards officers and men and German officers which correct the original citation.
- The Long, Long Trail - Irish Guards
- Irish Guards.org.uk
External links
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British Army Infantry Regiments |
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