Biography
The Royal Irish Regiment traces its beginnings to Tiffins Inniskillings, a British military unit established in Enniskillen during 1689. Across three centuries the formation, later designated the Royal Irish Rangers, took part in campaigns including the Battle of Waterloo, the Indian Mutiny, the Boer War, World War I’s Battle of the Somme, World War II operations such as the Dunkirk evacuation and D-Day landings in Normandy, and the Korean War. On July 1, 1992, the Royal Irish Rangers merged with the Ulster Defence Regiment, creating the Royal Irish Regiment and thereby the British Army’s largest infantry regiment. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s the regiment conducted operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The Band of the Royal Irish Regiment originated in 1993 from the merger of the first and second battalions’ existing regimental bands. In addition to furnishing music for the regiment itself, the ensemble performed for numerous civilian organizations and charities at locations that included the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, the Manchester Cathedral, and London’s Royal Albert Hall. International engagements took the band to Germany and Canada, while domestic appearances encompassed a concert at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.; the group also produced multiple recordings. Military reductions ultimately led to the Band of the Royal Irish Regiment’s dissolution on October 31, 2007.
Albums
