OnThisDay 1924 – Óglaigh na hÉireann/Irish Defence Forces Formally Established
Defence Forces Crest
The Defence Forces (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1923, provided that the Irish Free State Executive Council to raise and maintain an armed force to be called Óglaigh na hÉireann. The Council also had to set a date for the formal establishment of the Defence Forces. The date fixed was 1 October 1924.
On 11 October a recruiting article appeared in the Connaught Telegraph.
“Óglaigh na hÉireann have made the Free State possible and maintained its authority in a period of peril which is all too fresh in our minds.’ It is no small boast to have been a member of forces which will hand such a heritage to posterity, The Defence Forces of Saorstát Éireann will be second to none when their organisation and training are completed, and now that we have complete responsibility for our forces, there is no reason why the undoubtedly excellent soldier-making material in our own country should not be available. Military service makes a traditional and irresistible appeal to all healthy young Irishmen.”
Recording the Story of the 18pdr with Sgt Robert Delaney
Photos by John O’Byrne and Michael Coyne
First published on 26 August, 2022. Updated 1 March 2023.
Delighted to release our production of: The Four Courts QF 18-pounder ‘9168’ Field Gun – From Restoration to Museum Display. This video was recorded on location last August in the Curragh Military Museum last August with Sgt Robbie Delaney, Irish Defence Forces Ordnance Corps. This video tells the story of the recently restored Ordnance QF 18-pounder Field Gun ‘9168’; one of the very same that fired the opening shots of the Irish Civil War in June 1922. Variants of the Ordnance 18-pdr served throughout the Great War – primarily with the British Artillery Regiments, in the early years of the National Army following the establishment of the Irish Free State, and with the Irish Defence Forces’ Artillery Corps up until the 1960s. This particular gun was sold off in the 1950s and disappeared across the Atlantic. As it turned out it stood guard outside a diner in Virginia, United States until historian Kenneth Smith-Christmas came across it and recognised it as an Irish Army 18-pdr. From there he contacted Lar Joye in the National Museum of Ireland , not long after a team was on its way over to inspect the gun. Brought home to Ireland the ‘Ivy Patch Gun’ as it was known has now been fully restored to as it was in 1922 by the team at the Ordnance Corps in the Curragh Camp. This is the story of The Four Courts QF 18-pounder ‘9168’ Field Gun – from restoration to museum display. In this video Sgt Robbie Delaney takes viewers through the history and service of the gun and the restoration and conservation process. An incredible undertaking and a credit to all the team involved. The restoration and conservation project is complemented by a exhibition in the Curragh Military Museum, depicting the firing on the Four Courts 28-30 June, 1922.
The 18pdr Field Gun is currently on display in the National Museum of Ireland Collins Barracks, Dublin.
Thank you to Military Archives, Kenneth Smith-Christmas, and British Pathé. This project was supported by Kildare Decade of Commemorations and The Dept. of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
You can red the full story of the Ivy Patch Gun prior to its restoration and its journey back to Ireland in Kenneth Smith-Christmas article by clicking here.
Big thank you to Sgt Robert Delaney Ordnance Corps and the team at the Curragh Military Museum.
South African Irish Regiment Renamed in Honour of Andrew Mlangeni
After six years of consultation and engagement 52 reserve units of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) have been renamed under the Army’s Name Review, one of them: the South African Irish Regiment. The new names were announced on 7 August. A bulletin stated the new names reflect: “the military traditions and history of indigenous African military formations and the liberation armies involved in the freedom struggle” and the: “unit names adopted are appropriate to the new South Africa and enhance cohesiveness and regimental pride within the Reserves.” The South African Irish Regiment, which is part of the SANDF Defence Reserves Division has been renamed in honour of prominent liberation struggle figure and last surviving Rivonia Trialist: Colonel (Dr) Andrew Mokete Mlangeni.
The Army Bulletin expressed the diverse military history of South Africa:
“Currently military traditions in SA Army Reserve units reflect only those from the South African Defence Force (SADF) and its predecessor, the Union Defence Force (UDF). The military traditions and history of indigenous African military formations and liberation armies involved in the freedom struggle have yet to be reflected in SA Army Reserve units…
It was the aim of the name review process to address this omission in a balanced and innovative way.”
Some of the units are the oldest in the SANDF, including: the Umvoti Mounted Rifles, Durban Light Infantry, Kimberley Regiment, and the Buffalo Volunteer Rifles in East London. The oldest unit, the Natal Carbineers, for example, was formed in 1855 and renamed the Ingobamakhosi Carbineers. The South African Irish Regiment was formed on the outbreak of the Great War when when three officers (Major George Twomey, Captain J. Jeoffreys and a Captain MacDonald) met at the Irish Club in Johannesburg.
A bagpiper of the Pipes and Drums of the South African Irish Regiment plays the Lament around the Cenotaph in Johannesburg, Remembrance Sunday 2018. (Photo: SANDF)
In 1914 the regiment adopted the motto “Quis separabit?” (“Who will separate us?”), during World War II this changed to “Faugh-a-Ballagh” (“Clear the Way”). The regimental cap badge consisted of the Irish harp and the regimental motto. They originally marched to The County Down Militia, this later changed to Killaloe.
The South African Irish Regiment served with distinction during the Great War and World War II. The regiment transformed throughout the decades, it gained the Freedom of the City of Johannesburg, took part in the Border Wars, and by the early 2000 its members were on deployment with the UN in the Democratic Republic of China.
Along with their other reserve units, the South African Irish Regimental colours and battle honours will be laid up in parades phased over the coming three-years.
