famous Irish regiments and irish military history
website news
current website subject
A Mystery Solved
THE WEBSITE
Hello, and a warm welcome to my website news page. I decided to add this page, so that visitors can see what is going on with the site and also what is new. The Irish soldier in history. What is it about him that makes him so different from all the others? The question is complicated. Yet there is an answer. To find that answer we have to look back into Irish History itself. To understand the history of the country is to understand the Irish themselves. It is a brutal history and it is tragic. Yet from the darkness and the terrible treatment suffered its soul was never destroyed, its people survived and they achieved many great things. My aim is to create a comprehensive website about Irelands fighting men. Within this site there are chapters which start at the very begining of Irelands existance. The aim of this is to show where the 'fighting spirit' of the Irish came from. I am hoping to take these chapters right through time, to show all the conflicts in which the Irish have been involved. I hope that one day this website will be finished and that it will be a fitting tribute to my countrymen who suffered so greatly yet gave so much. It will be a long journey, but i am in no hurry. Finally, this website contains background music and film. If you wish to watch one of the many videos included on the site, the background music to the website can be either turned off or paused at the music box at the bottom of the Welocme Page. I hope you enjoy the website.
researching family history
Researching the military history of a relative can be a bit of a nightmare. There are many sites out there that charge a fee for a sneak preview of a possible record. I am not a specialist in this area, and there are certainly people out there who specialise in this type of investigation and information. Maybe the following information might point you in the right direction. Quite often, regimental museums are very helpful. They do not hold the records of indivdual soldiiers, but may be able to proivide more detailed accounts of specfic actions in the form of a Company of Battalion war dary. It is worth contacting the Museum in question to see if they can assist. Be patient as quite often museums are under staffed or run on a voluntary basis. World War One records are held at the Public Records Office, at Kew in London. You can examine individual records there. During World War 2 and the Blitz in London, nearly 60% of the World War 1 personal records were destroyed by fire. However, there are many that did survive so it is a matter of luck that your relatives records are still intact. Sadly last year i received photocopies of the burnt remains of one of my relatives records. Any member of the public can visit the records office and view the data there. If you are unable to attend and view the records yourself, there is a service where this can be done on your behalf, but there is a fee involved. The other option is to hire a professional researcher like Richard Moles who will attend Kew and copy the requested records. There is a fee for this service, but it is thorough and very professional. Richard will take the time to go through things with you and will keep you updated as to the progress of his finds. You can see Richards website on the below link. It will explain the type of investigations he can conduct. www.richardmoles.com
Music from the Royal Irish Regiment
Family History Con..
If you are looking for the record of a relative who served during World War 2 these are located in Glasgow. The address is:
Army Personnel Centre MS Support Division Parliamentary & Disclosures Branch Historical Disclosures Section, Mail Point 555, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G28 EX Tel: 0141 224 2335 Fax: 0141 224 3172
You need to request a form, which is then allocated a unique reference number. Once you submit your form there is a wait of between 6 and 8 months. There is also a fee involved for this service which i think is £25.00
the royal ulster rifles
The biggest change on the website is that i have now taken off all the pages concerning the Living History Group. For those who are not aware we are a small group representing the 1st and 2nd Battalions Royal Ulster Rifles, the London Irish Rifles and the Irish Guards during ww2. The aim of the group is to preserve the memory of all Irishmen who fought during the second World War and the traditions of the fine Irish regiments they served in. I am currently working on a new site for the group, which should be very interesting as it will also have a history of the Royal Ulster Rifles, and some very interesting exhibits from our collections. You can see the site at: www.2ndbattalionroyalulsterrifles.com
Go mbeannai Dia duit
Steve ( Mad Paddy )
Above, one of the exhibits on our Living History website
A few months back i had a message from Lieutenant-Colonel Ed Freely. Like myself he is also from County Mayo, and is the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment. Thanks to him, i was given a unique insight of the regiment and its structure, and hopefully in the near future i will be writing several pages about the regiment, which i am very much looking forward to.
the royal irish regiment
Men of the 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles at Sword Beach 1944
