1881: The Royal Irish Rifles - organised as the county regiment of Antrim, Down & Louth and uniting two regular battalions.

83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot

86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot

1921: The Royal Ulster Rifles

1968: United with The Royal Innisskilling Fusiliers and The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) to form 2nd Bn, The Royal Irish Rangers

World War One - 21 Battalions

The Great War [21 battalions]: Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, La Bassée 1914, Messines 1914 '17 '18, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1914 '15 '17 '18, Nonne Bosschen, Neuve Chapelle, Frezenberg, Aubers, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916, Bazentin, Pozières, Guillemont, Ginchy, Ancre Heights, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Cambrai 1917, St. Quentin, Rosières, Lys, Bailleul, Kemmel, Courtrai, France and Flanders 1914-18, Kosturino, Struma, Macedonia 1915-17, Suvla, Sari Bair, Gallipoli 1915, Gaza, Jerusalem, Tell 'Asur, Palestine 1917-18

Battle Honours WW2

The Second World War: Dyle, Dunkirk 1940, Normandy Landing, Cambes, Caen, Troarn, Venlo Pocket, Rhine, Bremen, North-West Europe 1940 '44-45

Seoul, Imjin, Korea 1950-51

see also: London Irish Rifles

 

Museum of the Royal Irish Regiment, Ballymena (Army Museums Ogilby Trust)

Deployment
1st Battalion

1881.07.01 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Rifles
1881 South Africa aaa
1885 Guernsey
<1889> Ireland: Mullingar (det to Sudan 1889)
<1892> Fermoy
<1894> Newry
1895 England: Aldershot
1897 Natal
1899 India: Dehra Dun
1903 Fyzabad
1906 Meerut
1909 Burma
1911 India: Kamptee
1913 Aden
1914.11 France and Flanders 8 Div
1918.02 France and Flanders 36 Div
1919 England: Parkhurst
1921.01.01 1st Battalion, The Royal Ulster Rifles
1922 Germany Army of Occupation
1926 England: Aldershot 2 Bde
1929 Ireland: Belfast
1933 Palestine
1935 China: Hong Kong
1937 Egypt
1938.12 India: Rawalpindi
1938.12 NW Frontier
1939.09 UK
1940.07 UK 31 Inf Bde
1941 converted to airlanding role
1941.12 UK 1 Abn Div
1942.11 Tunisia
1943.07 Sicily
1943.09 UK 6 Abn Div
1944.06 NW Europe
1945.10 Palestine
1945.05.01 converted back to infantry and amalgamated with 1st Battalion
1948 Northern Ireland: Ballykinlar depot
1949 England: Colchester
1950.11 Korea 29 Inf Bde Gp
1951.10 Hong Kong
1954 England: Colchester
1955 Germany: Wuppertal 2 Div
1957.05 Cyprus
1959.09? England: Parkhurst
1961.05 Germany: Iserlohn 5 Brigade
1963.04 England: Bulford
1964 [Hong Kong & Borneo]
1964 England: Bulford
1967 Gibraltar
1968.07.01 2nd Battalion, The Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th)
redesignated upon formation of "large" regiment from North Irish Brigade
1970 Bahrain
1971 England: Tidworth 5 Inf Bde
1972.07 England: Warminster Inf Demo Bn
1974.07 Germany: Hemer 6 Armd Bde
1977.01 Hemer 3 Armd Div
1979.03 England: Tidworth 8 Field Force
1981.11 Berlin Berlin Bde
1983.03 England: Dover 2 Bde
1988.08 Germany: Lemgo 20 Armd Bde
1992.07.01 2nd Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and The Ulster Defence Regiment
1993.08 UK
1993.08 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and The Ulster Defence Regiment
renumbered on disbandment of old 1st Battalion
1993 ?
1995.01 England: Catterick 19 Mech Bde
1997.02 (Bosnia)
1997.10 England: Catterick 19 Mech Bde
1998? D (Gurkha) Coy attached ("Gurkha Reinforcement Company")
1999.12 England: Canterbury 16 Air Assault Bde
2000.07.22 Sierra Leone IMATT
2000? England: Canterbury 16 Air Assault Bde
2003.02 Persian Gulf 16 Air Assault Bde
2003.03 Iraq 16 Air Assault Bde
2003.05 England: Canterbury 16 Air Assault Bde
2003.07 D (Gurkha) Coy disbanded
England: Canterbury 16 Air Assault Bde

2nd Battalion

1795 86th Regiment of Foot

1881.07.01 2nd Battalion, The Royal Irish Rifles
1881 Bermuda
<1885> Nova Scotia: Halifax
<1888> Egypt
1888 Sudan
<1892> Malta
1897 India: Poona
1899.10 South Africa 5 Bde
1903 Ireland: Dublin
1906 England: Aldershot
1910 Dover
1912 Tidworth
1914.08 France and Flanders 3 Div
1915.10 France and Flanders 25 Div
1917.11 France and Flanders 36 Div
1919 Iraq 34 Bde, 17 Div
1921.01.01 2nd Battalion, The Royal Ulster Rifles
1921 Egypt
1922 Turkey Army of Occupation
1923 India: Madras
1928 Poona
1931 Sudan
1933 England: Gravesend
1936 Catterick
1938 Palestine
1938 England: Parkhurst
1939.09 France & Belgium 3 Inf Div, BEF
1940.06 UK
1944.06 NW Europe
1945 Germany
1948? Northern Ireland: Ballykinlar
1948.05.01 disbanded at Ballykinlar (technically "amalgamated" with 1st Battalion)