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To trace the movements and actions of any battalion, click on the Divisions with which it served
Battalions of the regular army
1st Battalion:
August 1914 : in Nasiribad. Returned to UK and landed at Devonport on 18 November 1914, then attached to 82nd Brigade, 27th Division. 3 November 1916 : transferred to 30th Brigade, 10th (Irish) Division.
2nd Battalion:
August 1914 : in Devonport,
part of 8th Brigade, 3rd Division. Landed at Bouogne
on 14 August 1914.
Virtually destroyed as a battalion near Le Pilly during
the Battle
of La Bassée.
24 October 1914 : transferred as Army Troops
to Lines of Communication.
14 March 1915 : transferred to 12th Brigade, 4th
Division.
26 July 1915 : transferred to 11th Brigade, 4th
Division.
22 May 1916 : transferred to 22nd Brigade, 7th
Division.
14 October 1916 : transferred to 49th Brigade, 16th
(Irish) Division.
23 April 1918 : transferred to 188th Brigade, 63rd
Division.
> Extract from war diary
3rd (Reserve) Battalion:
August 1914 : in Clonmel. A training unit, it remained in UK throughout
the war. Moved within a few days of declaration
of war to Dublin. In September 1916 moved to Templemore (Co. Tipperary)
but by the end of 1917 was back at Dublin. In April 1918 the bn moved
to England and joined Irish Reserve Brigade at Larkhill.
4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion:
August 1914 : in Kilkenny. A training unit, it
moved within a few days of declaration of war
to Queenstown. In May 1915, moved to England, based at Gosport. Returned
to Ireland September 1915 and moved to Fermoy. May 1916 moved back
to Queenstown. In April 1918 the
bn moved to England and joined Irish Reserve Brigade at Larkhill.
Battalions of the Territorial Force
As the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act of 1907 did not call for the creation of TF units in Ireland, the regiment had no TF battalions.
Battalions of the New Armies
5th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers):
Formed at Clonmel in August 1914
as part of K1 and attached to 29th Brigade, 10th
(Irish) Division.
About June 1915, converted to Pioneer Bn of the
same Division.
7 July 1915: embarked at Liverpool
and sailed to Gallipoli via Mudros. Landed Suvla Bay 7 August 1915.
1 April 1918 : transferred to 52nd
Division.
31 May 1918 : transferred to Lines of Communication.
14
July 1918 : transferred to 50th Division.
6th (Service) Battalion:
Formed at Clonmel on 6 September
1914 as part of K2 and attached
to 47th Brigade, 16th (Irish) Division.
March
1915 : joined by one Company from the Guernsey
Militia.
6 February 1918
: disbanded in France.
7th (South Irish Horse) Battalion:
Formed in France, 1 September 1917,
from the dismounted 1st and 2nd South
Irish Horse.
14 October 1917 : attached to 49th Brigade, 16th
(Irish) Division.
18 April 1918 : reduced to cadre strength; reformed
26 June 1918.
4 July 1918 : transferred to 21st Brigade, 30th
Division.
8th (Service) Battalion:
Formerly the 2nd Garrison Guard
Bn (see below), which became the 8th Garrison Bn on 25 May 1918.
13
July 1918 : became the 8th (Service) Bn.
Other battalions raised by the regiment
1st Garrison Battalion:
Formed in Dublin, 2 August 1915. 24 September 1915 : landed at Mudros, having sailed from Devonport on 6 September. Working parties were sent into Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, during October 1915. After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the Bn was sent to Egypt, where it landed on 5 February 1916 and then remained throughout the war.
2nd (Home Service) Garrison Battalion:
Formed at Dublin, March 1916. Remained
there until April 1918 when it became the 2nd Garrison Guard Bn.
April
1918 : landed in France.
18 April 1918 : attached to 178th Brigade, 59th
Division.
25 May 1918 : became the 8th Garrison Bn.
20 June 1918
: transferred to 121st Brigade, 40th Division.
13 July 1918 : became the 8th (Service) Bn.
| Did you know? The Royal Irish Regiment, which had a long history of service with the British Army as far back as Marlborough, was disbanded in 1922 under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Agreement. The regimental colours were received by the King and were laid up in Windsor Castle. It had traditionally recruited in the counties of Tipperary, Wexford, Waterford and Kilkenny, all of which were part of the independent Ireland defined by the Agreement. A new regiment of the same name was formed in 1992 under the "Options for Change" programme, through the amalgamation of the Royal Irish Rangers and the Ulster Defence Regiment, both very much Northern Irish regiments. Its full and proper title is now the The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment). |