A typical scene in the west of Ireland " Listed for the Connaughts " by Lady Butler

  REGIMENTAL BATTLE HONOURS

Seringapatam, Talavera, Bussaco, Fuentes D'Onoro, Cludad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca

Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsular, Alama, Inkerman, Sevastopol,Central India

South Africa ( 1877-78-79 ) Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902.

  FIRST WORLD WAR HONOURS

1st Battalion: Messines 1914, Armentieres 1914, Ypres 1914, Festubert 1914, Givenchy 1914,

Neuve Chapel, St Julien, Aubers, Ypres 1915, Tigris, Kut Al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia

1916-1918, Megiddo, Sharon, Palestine.

2nd Battalion: Mons, retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Ypres 1914, Langemarche,

Nonne Bosschen.

5th Battalion: Suvla, Sari Bari, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Kosturioni, Struma, Macedonia 1915-1917, Gaza, Jerusalem, Tel' Azur

Palestine 1917-1918, Hindenberg Line, Cambrai 1918, Selle.

6th Battalion: Somme 1916, Guillemont, Ginchy, Messines, Ypres 1917, Saint Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosieres.

Three regiments have ranked successively as the 88th Foot, the later numerical designation of the 1st battalion The Connaught Rangers.

1/ The 88th ( Royal Highland Volunteers ) of 1760-63. This was a corps of Highlanders, raised under an order dated 1st January 1760, by Major John Cambell of Dunoon. It served in the Campaigns in Germany as a linked battalion with the old 87th Highlanders, and like that corps, won fame on many fields. It was disbanded on 17th July 1763.

2/ The 88th Foot of 1779-83. This corps was raised under an order dated 19th October 1779, and was numbered as the 88th Foot .It was disbanded disbanded at the peace of 1783

3/ The 88th or Connaught Rangers.This Corps was raised under an order dated 25th September 1793, By Colonel the

Hon De Burgh afterwards Earl of Clanricarde. It was chiefly recruited in Connaught, and was therefore styled

" the Connaught Rangers " When the newly - levied regiments were numbered shortly afterwards it took rank as the 88th Foot.

The facings were yellow and the Irish Harp and " Quis Seperabit " motto were adopted as the regimental device, although direct authority to bear them does not seem to have been given until twenty seven years later, by a horse Guards order Dated 30th December 1830.

In 1881, the 88th ( Connaught Rangers ) Regiment of Foot ( which formed the 1st battalion ) and the 94th of Foot ( which formed the 2nd battalion ) were amalgamated . The amalgamation ot the two regiments into one was part of the British Government's Childers reforms of the British Forces which was in turn, a continuation of the cardwell Reforms implemented in 1879. At that time five Infantry battalions were given Irish territorial titles.

Militarily, the wholw of Ireland was administered as a seperate command headquarters at Parkgate,( Phoenix Park ) Dublin, directly under the War Office in London. Of the Regiments raised dring this period the Connaught's had a reputation for being most Irish. Some of the men it was said knew only enough English to get by on parade. With one or two exceptions all its officers were Irish., who were either belonged to septs or families connected with the Colonel.

many of these officers raised recruits from their estates or communities in Connaught and from

 the beginning a strong ' familial' spirit soon merged with a regimental allegiance that was

uniquely treasured.The regimental spirit of the Connaught Rangers was early evident in a fracas

with the Derbyshire militia at Eastbourne, England, where the militia were so impressed with the

fighting prowess of the 88th that some two hundred of them were persuaded to transfer into the

Rangers.In Late 1808 when ordered to the Peninsular, the commander of the 88th was Major

Vandeleur of the Vandeleur family whose youngers sons were classic Irish Junkers. In the late

18th century the process was well underway that gave Wellington's army in Spain its very Irish

character with no fewer than 14 Irish regiments and he estimated an irish presence of 30 percent

in other regiments.The 88th served under General Picton in the 3rd Division or otherwise known

as the " Fighting Division " as Lieutenant Grattan called them in his war diaries. The 88th took part

in some of the fiercest battles of the war, including Talevera, Bussaco and Badajoz, just to name a

few.Wellington often mentioned their brave actions,and such was their reputation that they were called the " Devils Own. The below paragraph gives a good account of what these men of the 88th were like.

" On the 3rd and 5th of May 1811 the French under Messena, attacked the village of Feuentes de Onoro on the Spanish/Portuguese border, his aim being to relieve the Portuguese fortress of Almeida, still in French hands but blocked by Wellington. The fiercely fought battle was a narrow victory for Wellington. In Gratton's account Colonel Wallace of the 88th, watching from high ground and battle raging below, offered his wild Connaught Rangers to Sir Edward Pakenham to clear the French 9th Light Regiment and Grenadiers out of the village .Pakenham galloped off for Wellingtons approval and hurrying back called out ' he says you may go- come along Wallace!' So ferocious was the fight that Grattan felt compelled to defend the annihilation of one group of French caught in a cul-de-sac by Rangers led by Lieutenant George Johnston: ' Mistakes of this kind will sometimes occur....in the present instance every man was put to death '

At the conclusion of the war in 1814 the 88th were sent to Canada. The regiment was recalled follwing Napoleon's escape from Elba, and lucky enough for the French was to late to take part in the battle of Waterloo. At the end of the peninsular war Horse Guards sent veteran troops from Wellington's army to Canada where the Canadian militia and a scanty force of British Army regulars had not been able to contain the American incursions along the Quebec border. In mid- August 1814 some 16,000

arrived from Bordeaux: Irish among them were the 1st and 3rd 27th Foot and two battalions of the 88th. the short time these Irish regiments were in north America was one of rest and recreation compared to the Peninsular campaign and casualties were few.

The Connaught Rangers served in the Crimean War ( 1854-1856 ), where conditions were so terrible and the supply of provisions and medical care were so hampered by red tape and poor command that of the 21,327 British fatalities only 2,255 were killed by enemy action, 1,847 died of wounds and a shocking 17,225 from desease. The famous Irish War correspondent William Howard Russell ( born County Dublin ) in his despatches described the British base at Balaclava as " words could not describe its filth, its horrors, its hospitals, its buerials, its dead and dying Turks...or its decay.' It was William who brought the horrific conditions of the war to the Victorian dinner tables, causing so much shock and indignation that the army was saved from annihilation through sheer neglect. As the war went on William became the greatest thorn in the side of the Horse Guards Establishment. The Connaught's service in the Crimean War was recognised by the presentation to the City of Galway of a pair of cannon captured by the Connaught's from the Russiansduring the war.These i believe are now on display ouside the City Hall.

INDIA 1857-1870: After the Crimean War, the Connaught Rangers returned to But in response to the Indian Rebellion the 88th

were soon deployed to India. The regiment with a strength of 990 at this time plus the depot of about 100, embarked during

July 1857 in four detatchments. It arrived in Calcutta in November. by 25th of November 1857, six companies had reached the front, four at Cawnpore and two near Futtipore. by the end of 1858 the total loss of the 88th in the field during the operations, according to the returns of each engagement, amounted to one officer and 16 other ranks killed, and six officers and 138 other ranks wounded.The Connaught Rangers served in India until 1870. On the 16th of November 1870 they boarded the troop ship HMS ' Jumna ' in bombay and the passage home began on the following morning ( November 17 ). The Connaught Rangers had been 13 years in India. Nine Officers and 407 non commissioned officers and men died in India during that period.

GARRISON DUTIES: The 88th were based in Bengal, British India when they were amalgamated into the new regiment having deployed in India in 1879. The 94th were also abroad when they became the 2nd battalion. They had deployed to South Africa where they had taken part in the Zulu War and in 1880 the first Boer War where in January 1881 Lance Corporal James Murray of the regiment won a Victoria Cross.The 2nd battalion returned home the following year where they were stationed in Ireland and in 1887 moved to England. In 1889 the 2nd Battalion deployed to Malta. The Ist Battalion departed India for Aden and returned home in 1891.In 1892 the 2nd Battalion remained in the Mediterranean and deployed to Cyprus and then in 1895 to Egypt. The following year the 2nd Battalion as well as the machine gun section of the 1st Battalion, deployed to the Sudan as part of the Dongola Expeditionary Force under the command of Lord Kitchener as part of the reconquest of the Sudan.

The 2nd Battalion departed for India the following year while the 1st battalion deployed to Ireland.In 1899 the 2nd Battalion deployed to Malta.

THE BOER WAR: The 1st Battalion deployed to South Africa as part of the 5th Irish Brigade which was commanded by Major General Fitzroy Hart. The Rangers took part in numerous engagements during the war. The regiment took part in the Battle of Colenso on the 15th December, part of the attempt to relieve the town of ladysmith, besieged by Boer forces. The Rangers and the rest of the 5th ( Hart's ) Brigade , who were on the left flank had been forced to perform over 20 minutes of drill before the advance. This was not down to the men and officers but down to Hart himself , who still viewed the tactics of the Crimean War and would send his men against the Boers in close rank, which proved a perfect target for the Boers and disasterous for the Irish, who as they advanced were met with fire from three sides. They were eventually forced to retire.The battle ended in defeat for the British. This and two previous defeats at Magerfontein and Stormberg became known as ' Black Week '

The Rangers fought at Spion Kop and the Tugela Heights during further attempts by General Sir Redvers Buller to relieve the besieged town of Ladysmith. In Late February the siege finally came to an end after it was relieved by British Forces.

The regiment was awarded the battle honour ' Relief of Ladysmith ' in addition to South Africa 1899-1902.The 5th Brigade subsequently deployed to Kimberley and took part in further operations against the Boer Guerillas.The Rangers finally departed South Africa for Ireland after the War ended in 1902 and were also awarded the theatre honour. In 1908 the 1st Battalion arrived in India while the 2nd Battalion returned home to Ireland. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the regiment were given new Colours by HM King George V in 1911. The 2nd Battalion had left Ireland and was in England when the Great War began in August 1914.

FIRST WORLD WAR: The Connaught's involvement in the Great War is long and glorious,and worthy of many pages, below are a few facts in relation to the Regiment: Some 2,500 Connaught Rangers were killed in World War 1 and their graves lie in France, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt, Palestine, India, Iraq, Isreal and England. In just over a weeks fighting in the battle of the Somme ( September 1916 ) the 6th Battalion lost 23 Officers and 407 other ranks.On the 21st of march 1918, the same Battalion was practically annihlated during the German Spring offensive breakthrough at St Emilie in France, in one week the Bttalion lost 22 officers and 618 other ranks. The figure of 618 includes the figure of 407.On the first day of the German spring offensive the 6th Battalion found following the opening bombardment that the order to withdraw had not reached them so they were left alone to face the onslaught of 2 fresh German divisions. Approximately 222 men were left standing after this. The Regiment lost over 300 men Killed in action, wounded or missing on that day follwing 5 weeks in the line. As a result of these heavy losses the survivors were transferred into the 2nd Battalion The Leinster regiment. The 6th Battalion Connaught Rangers was no more. Private Martin Moffat from Sligo later a winner of the Victoria Cross, was one of the men transferred.

DISBANDMENT: As a result of the foundation of the Irish Free state , under the terms of the Anglo - Irish Treaty the Connaught Rangers and five other Irish Infantry regiments of the former Southern Ireland were disbanded in 1922. On the 12th June the

Rangers Colours, along with those of five other regiments were laid up in a disbandment ceremony at St. George's Hall

Windsor Castle in Berkshire in the presence of King George V and the five other disbanding regiments. The Rangers detachment included the commanding officers of the 1st and 2nd Battalions. Lieutenant - Colonels W.N.S Alexander and

H.F.N Jourdain.The Regiment was formally disbanded on 31st July, after which there was no regiment of Rangers. And so ended the glorious history of the old 88th. But the Connaught Rangers will always be remebered by that famous Great War Song, written in 1912 by Jack Judge' Its a long way to Tipperary ' It was the 2nd Battalion Connaught Rangers who sang this on the 13th August 1914, when on parade in the French port of Boulogne, and marching to the front line. The incident was witnessed by war correspondent George Curnoch, who printed the incident in the Daily Mirror dated 18th August 1914. From that day on the song became an outstanding success and will be forever linked with the Connaugh rangers and the Great War of 1914-1918.