Within days the Battalion then pushed north again to meet up with Pathfinder Special Forces on the River Euphrates. Over the next 36 hours the Battalion conducted a lightning raid over 150km to secure the city of Al Amarah. As the first troops into Al Amarah the Royal Irish Regiment had the task of protecting over 70,000 people as they went about their lives.

The Royal Irish Regiment: Op Telic 1 : 2003

On crossing the border on 22nd March the Battalion secured the strategic target of the Rumaylah Oilfields in Southern Iraq. On further orders the Battalion then conducted an advance to contact north to secure the towns of Al Medina and Al Qurmah in the Garden of Eden.

Continued . .

Operation Telic 5/6 : 2005/2006

In July 2005 1 R Irish deployed to take over the role of the Deep Operations Battlegroup in Southern Iraq, based out of Shiabah Logistics Base ( SLB ) 1 R Irish were responsible for many tasks, including: The defence of SLB and the surrounding areas: Patrolling the areas around SLB to defeat the Anti-Iraqi Forces ( AIF ): Providing escorts and protection for convoys throughout Iraq and Kuwait. The Royal Irish regiment also had a Compan detached to work in Bagdad. Living in the International Zone, they were responsible for the protection of the Senior British Military Representative in Iraq ( SBMR-I ) and travelled daily on ' Route Irish ' the most dangerous road in the world at the time.

Operation Herrick 4 : 2006

In early 2006 16 Air Assault Brigade was deployed to Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan to hunt the terrorists there and bring stability to the region. Initially 30 men from the Battalion joined the British task force with the 3 Para in Helmand but this quickly grew to 100 men the majority being based in the town of Musa Qual'eh. Over the next few months the 1 R Irish soldiers were involved in very heavy fighting at close range as the Taliban and Al Qaeda tried to dislodge them from the soldier's positions. Using all their weapons, and with support from Apache Gunships and Nato Aircraft, the R Irish soldiers held their ground and prevented the enemy achieving their objective.

Operation Herrick 8 : 2008

The Battalion deployed with 16 Air Assault Brigade on Operation Herrick 8 in Afghanistan during 2008. They had the envious role of being involved with developing the Afghan National Army ( ANA ) into a coherent and professional fighting force. Mentoring the ANA is fundamental in the efforts to help drive the Taliban forces from Helmand Province and, ultimately, from Afghanistan.

Royal Irish Soldiers Honoured for Helmand Heroics:

10th March 2009

For the first time ever, three soldiers from the same Regiment have been awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. The soldiers all from the Royal Irish Regiment were recognised in the latest Operational Honours List for their bravery against the enemy in Afghanistan. Acting Sergeant Alwyn Stevens,

Corporal Robert McClurg and Lance Corporal Jone Toge, from 1st Battalion The Royal Irish ( 1 R Irish ) were deployed to Afghanistan as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade from March-September 2008. The three soldiers' role in Helmand was Province was to menter colleagues in the Afghan National Army and this included mentoring them while on operations. The great personal courage they demonstrated in carrying out this task has earned them the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, which is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry during active operations against the enemy. Fiji-born Lance Corporal Jone Bruce Toge was specifically recognised for taking command of the Operational Mentoring Liason Team which was supporting the Afghan National Army to the south of Musa Qaleh after his commander was incapacitated.

Lance Corpral Toge gallantly led his men and personally eaxtracted four injured soldiers and the lead Afghan National Army Sergeant from a killing area. He would state: ' We were the only ground troops in the area, so we got the order to secure the high ground and get sight of a village where the Taliban were operating from. ' Travelling in armoured Warrior vehicles, the unit were hit heavily by Taliban rocket-propelled greandes ( RPGs ) ' The Commander of the other Warrior got hit, so they withdrew back. We were left there alone, out in the open. Then we got hit. I was out for about ten seconds. It was like in the movies. I had the radio strapped to my head, and i remember the commander asking ' what's wrong, what's happening out there? ' Toge told his commander some 700m behind him that his vehicle had been hit by three or four rocket-propelled grenades. It was then that he realised that some of the Afghan soldiers were seriously injured. ' They were screaming. One had a neck and shoulder injury. I knew i had to extract the casualties - that was my priority. So i went with the ANA medic. We crawled forward

got the guys, pulled them back, and patched them up. The adrenalin kicks in and you prioritise - casualty,objective, then yourself. That's what i did. I didn't think about medals - I just thought it was another fight. That's what we do. ' Aware that his second objective was to secure the hight ground, Corporal Toge radioed for the other armoured vehicle to remove the wounded from the battle zone. ' We heaved them onto the back of the Warrior and then continued fighting. We had our eyes on the enemy in the village. Literally, i was looking at them and their eyes were looking at me, and we were firing at each other - it was kind of weird. '

Acting Sergeant Alwyn Stevens, The Royal Irish Regiment, is also awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. ' In 2006 we had just a small compound in the town itself. It's expanded now and we have hands on everything - there is more control of the whole area and most of the outskirts of Musa Qaleh as well, which is pretty impressive.' Alwyn Stevens received his award for personally engaging several Taliban fighters numerous times, while mentoring the Afghan National Army. In his role as a section commander Sgt Stevens regularly took the Afghan soldiers out on patrols, working with two

other British soldiers to observe what they were doing on the ground and suggesting alternatives if they did something wrong. ' We dont tell them exactly what to do, we help them develop ' He added that training was carried out under constant threat from Taliban insurgents. While out on one particular patrol with a platon of soldiers, Sgt Stevens and his men were ambushed by Taliban fighters. ' When your in a situation like that the training kicks in and you just deal with it and forget about everything else. When it comes to a fire-fight tyou just have to take control, remembering that as well as yourself you have your men to deal with, you don't question it, you just get on with it. You can't doubt yourself. We came under heavy enemy fire from three different sides and they were moving to surround us. So i took a man and pushed out to the flank and managed to engage them before they engaged us. ' As a result of this action they were able to escape a dangerous situation without any casualties or fatalities, despite being outnumbered two to one by the Taliban.

Corporal Robert William Kerr McClurg, the third member of The Royal Irish Regiment to receive the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross was honoured for his calm, selfless leadership style and great personal courage which repeatedly salvaged deteriorating situations, which would have lead to the loss of Afghan Army and Uk lives.

Sgt Stevens, Lance Corporal Toge and Corporal McClurg

Today in 2010, men from both North and South of the border will once again be returning to the fields and compounds of Afghanistan. They are united in friendship and a common cause. Let us remember then all, and pray that they return home safely. Faugh-a-Ballagh

If you would like to know more about The Royal Irish Regiment past and present, i am building a new website to the Regiment which can be seen at www.royalirishregiment.webeden.co.uk

Badges were not officially sanctioned until 1830 and only appeared in the Army List for 1831, yet in the same List it is evident that the Regiment had earned a most impressive number of Battle-Honours, which was only surpassed by four or five other Regiments.

The Connaught Rangers : 88th Foot -The Devil's Own

There were two Regiments which carried the number 88 before September 1793 when the Connaught Rangers were raised. The first of these was a Highland Regiment, the 88th ( Royal Highland Volunteers ) Cambell's raised in 1760. It served on the Continent but was disbanded at Linlithgow in July 1763. The next Regiment was raised in 1793 in Connaught, and was immediately named the Connaught Rangers. The Irish Harp and motto ' Quis Separabit ' were adopted, although not recorded in the 1794 Army List.

The first Battle-Honour awarded to the Regiment was ' Egypt 1801 ' and followed on 28th August 1817 by honours won during the Peninsular War. The Connaught Rangers had a reputation for being the most Irish of all the regiments. Infact some of the men only knew enough English to get the by on parade. Its first Colonel was the Honorable Thomas de Burgh, later the Earl of Clanricarde. With one or two exceptions all the officers within the Connaught Rangers were Irish, with many recruits being raised from the estates or communities with Connaught, so that a strong sense of allegiance existed within the regiment and was uniquely treasured.

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