On 17 March 1900 – ie. St Patrick’s Day, for those who live in a cave – the Irish Guards were formed. The formation of the new regiment was largely inspired by the bravery and sacrifice of the Irish regiments which had fought at The Battle of Tugela Heights – which had broken the Boer lines and relieved the Siege of Ladysmith on 28 February 1900.
Commanded by Major-General Fitzroy Hart, the 5th (Irish) Brigade comprised the 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers, the 1st Connaught Rangers[1], the 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers[2], plus an English battalion, the 1st Border Regiment.
Moved by the losses to these regiments, the HM Queen Victoria had sent the following message to General Buller:
‘I have heard with the deepest concern of the heavy losses sustained by my brave Irish soldiers. I desire to express my sympathy and admiration of the splendid fighting qualities which they have exhibited throughout these trying operations’
Though the Irish Guards were formed in the middle of the Boer War, the new regiment did not deploy to South Africa. Small numbers of Irish guardsmen did, however, serve as Mounted Infantry in the latter stages of the war.
NOTES:
[1] As two of the five Irish regiments that recruited in ‘the south’, both the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and the Connaught Rangers were disbanded in 1922. The other three regiments to be disbanded at that time were the Leinster Regiment, the Royal Munster Fusiliers, and the Royal Irish Regiment
[2] As one of the three Irish regiments that recruited in the predominantly Protestant north, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers remained intact after the partition of Ireland. It would be amalgamated with the Royal Ulster Rifles (which was the Royal Irish Rifles at the time of the Boer War) and the Royal Irish Fusiliers in 1968, forming the Royal Irish Rangers. This unit would, in turn, be amalgamated with the Ulster Defence Regiment in 1992, forming today’s Royal Irish Regiment – this has no lineage to the Royal Irish Regiment which was disbanded in 1922
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I am sure you know that there is an Irish Guards commemorative plaque outside the Ladysmith City Hall. I was there for the unveiling quite a few years ago now.
Good call on St Patrick’s Day. The Fusilier’s Arch at St Stephens Green, Dublin is well worth a visit.
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