WW1 Royal Irish Regiment Cap Badge

Guaranteed original. Complete & intact. This is an original WW1 Royal Irish Regiment cap badge for sale. In good condition. Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military badges for sale including other Royal Irish Regiment cap badges.

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The Royal Irish Regiment, until 1881 the 18th Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, first raised in 1684. Also known as the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 18th (The Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot, it was one of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, its home depot in Clonmel. It saw service for two and a half centuries before being disbanded with the Partition of Ireland following establishment of the independent Irish Free State in 1922 when the five regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in the counties of the new state were disbanded.

The 1st Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 82nd Brigade in the 27th Division in December 1914 for service on the Western Front but moved to Salonika in November 1915. The 2nd Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 8th Brigade in the 3rd Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front but was almost completely destroyed at the Battle of La Bassée in October 1914 with many men being taken as prisoners of war. The battalion was re-formed in October 1914 and, as part of the 22nd Brigade in the 7th Division saw further action at the Battle of the Somme, when it was involved in capturing three miles of the German frontline trenches, in Autumn 1916.

The 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, largely made up from local Dubliners, were the first British army troops to attack the Irish rebels during the Easter Rising: the rebels were fighting to end British rule in Ireland and to establish the Irish Republic in Dublin. Eight of the Royal Irish Regiment were killed and sixteen more wounded. Some of these are buried in Grangegorman Military Cemetery. A Royal Irish Regiment officer reported that “they regarded, not unreasonably, everyone they saw as an enemy, and fired at anything that moved”.

The 5th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers) landed in Suvla Bay as pioneer battalion for the 10th (Irish) Division in August 1915 but moved to Salonika in September 1915. The 6th (Service) Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 47th Brigade in the 16th (Irish) Division in December 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 7th (South Irish Horse) Battalion was formed in France as part of the 49th Brigade in the 16th (Irish) Division from the dismounted 1st and 2nd South Irish Horse in September 1917.

Due to substantial defence cuts and the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, it was agreed that the six former Southern Ireland regiments would be disbanded, including the Royal Irish Regiment. On 12 June, five regimental colours were laid up in a ceremony at St George’s Hall, Windsor Castle in the presence of HM King George V. The six regiments were then all disbanded on 31 July 1922. With the simultaneous outbreak of the Irish Civil War conflict some thousands of their ex-servicemen and officers contributed to expanding the Free State government’s newly formed National Army. They brought considerable combat experience with them and by May 1923 comprised 50 per cent of its 53,000 soldiers and 20 per cent of its officers.

Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military badges for sale Royal Irish Regiment Cap Badges.