THE ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT BERET BADGE

THE ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT BERET BADGE The Royal Irish Regiment Beret Badge This Auction is for the Cap Badge as worn by The Royal Irish Regiment . The Royal Irish Regiment ( 27th ( Inniskilling ) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment ) ( R IRISH ) is an infanty unit of the British Army . It is the only remaining Irish regiment of the line. Brand new and unissued staybrite/anodised Cap badge in an all silver finish, 47mm high, complete with it's mounted slider. Guaranteed new and unissued, in mint condition. Brief Regimental History - 1992 creation With an antecedence reaching back to 1689, the regiment was formed in 1992. The creation followed the 'Options for Change' proposals which recommended through the amalgamation of The Royal Irish Rangers and the The Ulster Defence Regiment ( UDR ). Most of the membership of the new Regiment came from the UDR . This produced a regiment with eleven battalions : Regular Army - General Service 1st Battalion , Royal Irish Regiment 2nd Battalion , Royal Irish Regiment Territorial Army 4th Battalion , Royal Irish Rangers 5th Battalion , Royal Irish Rangers Regular Army - Northern Ireland Resident Battalions (or "Home Service") 3rd (County Down ) Battalion , Royal Irish Regiment 4th (County Fermanagh and County Tyrone ) Battalion , Royal Irish Regiment 5th (County Londonderry ) Battalion , Royal Irish Regiment 6th (County Armagh ) Battalion , Royal Irish Regiment 7th (City of Belfast ) Battalion , Royal Irish Regiment 8th (County Tyrone ) Battalion , Royal Irish Regiment 9th (County Antrim ) Battalion , Royal Irish Regiment Note : Northern Ireland Resident Battalion is the official Army terminology for what was previously known as the " Home Service " (a term still mistakenly used). The Northern Ireland Resident Battalions filled the role formerly occupied by the UDR ; conducting counter-terrorism operations in Northern Ireland under Operation BANNER . The 1st and 2nd Battalions , by contrast, served worldwide as general service battalions. Because of its size, the regiment was removed from the King's Division and existed outside the divisions of infantry. In 1993, one of the regular battalions ( 2 R IRISH based in Lemgo ) was disbanded. In 2001, the number of Northern Ireland Resident Battalions was reduced to three: 2nd Battalion - amalgamation of 7th and 9th Battalions 3rd Battalion - amalgamation of 3rd and 6th Battalions 4th Battalion - amalgamation of 4th and 5th Battalions Current organisation In 2005, the government announced the end of Operation BANNER , and with it the disbandment of the resident battalions. These were declared non-operational in October 2006, and disbanded in July 2007. At the same time, the Royal Irish Rangers , then serving as the TA battalion , was fully incorporated as the 2nd Battalion , Royal Irish Regiment . Today, the operational command of the Royal Irish Regiment encompasses: 1st Battalion - general service 2nd Battalion - Territorial Army B ( North Irish Horse ) Squadron , Queen's Own Yeomanry - Territorial Army (a Royal Armoured Corps squadron under the operational command of the 2nd Battalion ) The Regimental Headquarters was, until Summer 2008, at St Patrick's Barracks , Ballymena , and is now at Palace Barracks , Holywood , Belfast . Restructuring The Resident Battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment during their final parade. In 2004, a major restructuring of the infantry was announced. It recommended, inter alia , that all of the remaining single battalion infantry regiments be amalgamated. Under normal circumstances, this would have put the Royal Irish Regiment at risk but because of its unique status providing the home defence for Northern Ireland , and as the only remaining Irish line infantry regiment, it was decided to leave the Royal Irish Regiment as it was, with no changes, with perhaps the exception of bringing the Territorial Army battalion more fully within the regiment's structure by renaming it as 5th Battalion , Royal ... read more