Originally Posted by Imshi-Yallah

Funnily enough I've heard a lot of guys encouraged to avoid Irish Regiments if they join the BA.

In years gone by it seems like leaving the PDF and enlisting the BA was quite a popular option along with the bizarre appeal of the FFL.

In my unit we have 3 Dublin blokes, a lad from Bray and a guy from West Belfast. I also know a bloke trying to transfer out of the Micks at the moment to the RLC.
You would be surprised at the amount of Southern Irish in the BA currently serving!

An Foras Cosanta Aituil - literally means Local Defence Force (the FCA of the "Emergency" (World War 2 to you)).

Mingled with a few during my UNRR stint in Cyprus. Good bunch of lads and canny drinkers, bee-gorra!!!

Originally Posted by Imshi-Yallah

Funnily enough I've heard a lot of guys encouraged to avoid Irish Regiments if they join the BA.

In years gone by it seems like leaving the PDF and enlisting the BA was quite a popular option along with the bizarre appeal of the FFL.

The sister in law's cousin is FFL as is one of my oppos cousin back home in Westmeath. I haven't met either of them but the former is a fcuking nut case and is from Cork so that explains a lot :D

I know a guy from my home town left the PDF to join the Royal Marines last year but I haven't been in touch with him so I don't know how he got on.

There used to be a fair few Irish guys and girls in the RN when I joined up but the mob is a lot more restrictive with dual nationalities now so I haven't met as many however there are still a few knocking about and in high profile jobs too.

Mind you, on my last ship, there were 2 guys from Tullamore (aircrew and stoker) and you should never underestimate the power of Biffos in groups of 2 or more :D

Originally Posted by the_matelot

Originally Posted by Imshi-Yallah

Funnily enough I've heard a lot of guys encouraged to avoid Irish Regiments if they join the BA.

In years gone by it seems like leaving the PDF and enlisting the BA was quite a popular option along with the bizarre appeal of the FFL.

The sister in law's cousin is FFL as is one of my oppos cousin back home in Westmeath. I haven't met either of them but the former is a fcuking nut case and is from Cork so that explains a lot :D

I know a guy from my home town left the PDF to join the Royal Marines last year but I haven't been in touch with him so I don't know how he got on.

There used to be a fair few Irish guys and girls in the RN when I joined up but the mob is a lot more restrictive with dual nationalities now so I haven't met as many however there are still a few knocking about and in high profile jobs too.

Mind you, on my last ship, there were 2 guys from Tullamore (aircrew and stoker) and you should never underestimate the power of Biffos in groups of 2 or more :D

is that because the Iranians had trouble with their exit visas?

Originally Posted by irlsgt

An Foras Cosanta Aituil - literally means Local Defence Force (the FCA of the "Emergency" (World War 2 to you)).

wide open here son......"literally" means Free Clothing Association ( The Great Pig Rind Famine ) as it was called in the better parts of Dublin. How was the world war an emergency? For an entire State who bottled out?

Surely it was just something to watch (World War 2 to you).

You should go and read a few more revisionist histories, believe it all, and go back to Ballygobackwards when it all goes wrong.

Which is roughly now.......

You talk about a force as if it came too life in 1998.

exactly who do you think was "active" from 1920 to 1997?????????????????????????????????????????

A large number of people should be compelled to watch the history channels for 6 months before posting "memories from my father/mother/idit uncle on this website."

From 1920 to 1995 the irish army actively helped many "terrorist" freedom fighter groups running guns to the north.

It was the Irish army who actively controlled the sea waters around the island.

In the 80ties 3 ship loads arrived and were unloaded off the irish coast.

each load was around 30 tons???????????????????????????

which required hundreds of small boat trips from ship to shore??????????????????????????

unloading took almost 10 hours?????????????????????????????????????????

so the next time you have the opertunity to ask an Irish officer the following
"how much money did your superiors get to turn a blind eye"

and dont start me on the NAZI german and french slimmy toads who lived a life of luxury and had government advisory postions from 1946 to 1993!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dont forget the Isralies killed and executed many uk citizens, and eventually became Isreal politicos.

a few years before the Nazi's were killing many UK soldiers in belsen and auschwitz.

a number of german officers at the time eventually became generals.

Possible even a big cheese in nato.

Same as saying the Serb officers possibly entering nato in the future are "GOOD GUYS". May be the individual is OK, but the man pulling his strings just may be a war criminal.

Originally Posted by oldgoat

It was the Irish army who actively controlled the sea waters around the island.

In the 80ties 3 ship loads arrived and were unloaded off the irish coast.

each load was around 30 tons???????????????????????????

which required hundreds of small boat trips from ship to shore??????????????????????????

unloading took almost 10 hours?????????????????????????????????????????

so the next time you have the opertunity to ask an Irish officer the following
"how much money did your superiors get to turn a blind eye"

I don't know if you have ever been to Ireland, there's a couple of hundred miles of remote coastline where you could easily unload much greater quantities of contraband without being seen by many people. Large quanitites of drugs are still smuggled in via this route. The Irish Naval Service and Air Corps didn't have the resources to monitor the entire coast all the time. Some of these arms shipments were intercepted.

Originally Posted by oldgoat

From 1920 to 1995 the irish army actively helped many "terrorist" freedom fighter groups running guns to the north.

and your evidence for that is what exactly?

(Not that I'd defend the ambiguous attitude towards PIRA of successive Fianna Fail governments)

Originally Posted by oldgoat

You talk about a force as if it came too life in 1998.

exactly who do you think was "active" from 1920 to 1997?????????????????????????????????????????

A large number of people should be compelled to watch the history channels for 6 months before posting "memories from my father/mother/idit uncle on this website."

From 1920 to 1995 the irish army actively helped many "terrorist" freedom fighter groups running guns to the north.

It was the Irish army who actively controlled the sea waters around the island.

In the 80ties 3 ship loads arrived and were unloaded off the irish coast.

each load was around 30 tons???????????????????????????

which required hundreds of small boat trips from ship to shore??????????????????????????

unloading took almost 10 hours?????????????????????????????????????????

so the next time you have the opertunity to ask an Irish officer the following
"how much money did your superiors get to turn a blind eye"

and dont start me on the NAZI german and french slimmy toads who lived a life of luxury and had government advisory postions from 1946 to 1993!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dont forget the Isralies killed and executed many uk citizens, and eventually became Isreal politicos.

a few years before the Nazi's were killing many UK soldiers in belsen and auschwitz.

a number of german officers at the time eventually became generals.

Possible even a big cheese in nato.

Same as saying the Serb officers possibly entering nato in the future are "GOOD GUYS". May be the individual is OK, but the man pulling his strings just may be a war criminal.

I can see your point but you need to dig a bit deeper to get the wider picture (and I don't think you'll get it from the history channel).

From the the mid 20's the Irish government took a dim view of IRA activities as the organisation was viewed as a threat to the stability of the free state (and later the republic). Although ROI was neutral during WW2, known IRA activists were interned,and a similar internment exercise virtually wrecked the IRAs border campaign during the late 50s/early 60s. I would concede that this approach changed during Charlie Haughey's time however partly understandable in the context of what we would now understand to be "ethnic cleansing" of the nationalist population in Northern Ireland. That said, there was considerable and constant dialogue between London and Dublin to try and avert a crisis.

Historically, there is little evidence to suggest that either the Gardai or IDF as organisations have explicitly or tacitly assisted IRA activities. In my experience during the mid to late 80s, there was considerable informal and formal co-operation between Army/RUC and ROI security forces either side of the border.

Madeejit is right to draw attention to ROIs extensive and porous borders which the state simply never had the resources to patrol effectively. why do you think PIRA/Sinn Fein were so keen to dismantle the British Army's border OPs?

Hope this clarifies the argument for all.

How big is the Irish Army these days? I've been told that you suffered big cuts a few years ago.