The Irish Army is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland. The Irish Army has an active establishment of 7,520, and a reserve establishment of 3,869. Like other components of the Defence Forces, the Irish Army has struggled to maintain strength and as of April 2023 has only 6,322 active personnel, and 1,382 reserve personnel. The Irish Army is organised into two brigades.
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR), also known as the Tigers, is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Queen's Division.
The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum is situated at Peninsula Barracks in Winchester, England. The museum is one of several regimental museums that form part of Winchester's Military Museums.
The United Nations Operation in the Congo was a United Nations peacekeeping force which was deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. The ONUC was the UN's first peacekeeping mission with significant military capability, and remains one of the largest UN operations in size and scope.
Likasi is a city in Haut-Katanga Province, in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
As part of the larger Congo Crisis (1960–1964), the siege of Jadotville began on 13 September 1961, lasting for five days. While serving under the United Nations Operation in the Congo, a small contingent of the Irish Army's 35th Battalion, designated "A" Company, were besieged at the UN base near the mining town of Jadotville by Katangese forces loyal to the secessionist State of Katanga. The siege took place during the seven-day escalation of hostilities between ONUC and Katangese forces during Operation Morthor. Although the contingent of 156 Irish soldiers repelled several attacks by a larger force, they eventually surrendered to the Katangese forces after running out of ammunition and water. The Irish company inflicted approximately 1,300 casualties on the Katangese force, with no deaths amongst the Irish "A" Company. A relief column of approximately 500 Indian, Irish, and Swedish UN troops, sent to break the siege, was unsuccessful and suffered several casualties. The captured Irish company was held as prisoners of war for approximately one month, before being released on 15 October as part of a prisoner exchange.
The Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women is a support organisation for ex-service personnel of the Irish Defence Services.
The 83rd Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, which was formed in Ireland in 1793 for service in the French Revolutionary Wars. The regiment served in the West Indies, South Africa and the Peninsular War, and after the end of the wars with France spent much of the nineteenth century in colonial garrisons. Among other service, the 83rd fought in the Ceylon Great Rebellion of 1817–18, the Canadian Rebellions of 1837, and the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Under the Childers Reforms, the regiment amalgamated with the 86th Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Irish Rifles in 1881.
Though Ireland has no formal honours system, there are systems of awards run by the state. Among those systems is the system of awards and medals awarded to members of the Defence Forces.
The Niemba ambush took place on 8 November 1960, when an Irish Army patrol in Congo-Léopoldville was ambushed, the first time the Irish Army was embroiled in battle since the 1922-23 Irish Civil War. Ireland had deployed troops as United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC) peacekeepers.
The United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) is a military formation which constitutes part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). It was authorized by the United Nations Security Council on 28 March 2013 through Resolution 2098. Although it is not the first instance in which the use of force was authorized by the UN, the Force Intervention Brigade is the first UN peacekeeping operation specifically tasked to carry out targeted offensive operations to "neutralize and disarm" groups considered a threat to state authority and civilian security. In this case, the main target was the M23 militia group, as well as other Congolese and foreign rebel groups. While such operations do not require the support of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), the Force Intervention Brigade often acts in unison with the FARDC to disarm rebel groups.
William "Liam" Donnelly was an Irish former hurler who played as a centre-back for the Dublin senior team.
Declan Power is a former Irish Army soldier, defence analyst and writer.
The Siege of Jadotville is a 2016 action-war film directed by Richie Smyth and written by Kevin Brodbin. An Irish-South African production, the film is based on Declan Power's book, The Siege at Jadotville: The Irish Army's Forgotten Battle (2005), about an Irish Army unit's role in the titular Siege of Jadotville during the United Nations Operation in the Congo in September 1961, part of the Congo Crisis that stretched from 1960 to 1965.
Roger Louis Faulquesa.k.a.René Faulques, was a French Army Colonel, a graduate of the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr, a paratrooper officer of the French Foreign Legion, and a mercenary. He fought in World War II, the First Indochina War, the Suez Crisis, the Algerian War, the Congo Crisis, the North Yemen Civil War and the Nigerian Civil War. He is one of France's most decorated soldiers.
Operation Rum Punch or Operation Rampunch was a military action undertaken by United Nations peacekeeping forces on 28 August 1961 against the military of the State of Katanga, a secessionist state from the Republic of the Congo in central Africa. UN troops arrested 79 foreign mercenaries and officers employed by Katanga with little conflict.
Patrick Quinlan (1919–1997) was an Irish Army officer who commanded the Irish UN force that fought at the Siege of Jadotville in Katanga in 1961, and surrendered when they ran out of ammunition and other supplies. Despite the initial lack of recognition for the events leading up to the surrender, in the years following Quinlan's death his reputation in Ireland was restored.
Operation Unokat, also styled Operation UNOKAT, was an offensive undertaken by United Nations peacekeeping forces from 5 to 21 December 1961 against the gendarmerie of the State of Katanga, a secessionist state rebelling against the Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. The United Nations had tried several times to reconcile the government of the Congo with the State of Katanga, which had declared independence under Moïse Tshombe with Belgian support in 1960.
Kottimukula Alagaraja Singaparaja Raja, known as K.A.S. Raja, was an Indian military officer.
James Lucey was an Irish Gaelic footballer. He played at club level with Glenbeigh-Glencar, Laune Rangers and Mid Kerry and at inter-county level with the Kerry senior football team.
