An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir July/August 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 38 | BY PTE TERRENCE O'REILLY, DEFENCE FORCES LIBRARY, MIL COL O n 24th January 1923, a General Routine Order formally organised the Infantry Corps into 60 Infantry Battalions; only the 3 Infantry Battalion still traces its origin to that date. At that time the Irish Civil War was still on going and the Army's oldest unit was then based at Drumboe in Donegal, com- manded by Comdt Bernard Sweeney and comprising three rifle companies and an MG Coy equipped with Lewis Guns. In June, following the conclusion of the Civil War, the battalion were concentrated at Dockery Barracks in Boyle and began a train- ing programme with the emphasis on route marches to Sligo and to the ranges at Finner Camp. The battalion's sport teams adopted a red and white livery, leading to them and in turn the battalion, being nicknamed "The Bloods." In 1927 the battalion entrained for transfer to the Curragh. By 1931 the battalion was equipped with Vickers helmets and machine guns and that year gave a spectacular firepower dem- onstration with 16 Vickers Guns in the Glen of Imaal. In the same year the Bloods won the rifle and revolver competitions in the inaugural All-Army Championships; this feat was repeated in 1932 and 1933 as well as winning the Lewis Gun competition. Small wonder that the battalion was nominated as demonstration unit of the Military College. On the declaration of the Emergency in 1939, the Bloods occu- pied positions in Portlaoise, Kilkenny and Waterford. In May 1940, the battalion formed the core of the 1 Mobile Column, based under canvas in the Nore Valley and responsible for defending the Wa- terford/Wexford coast from hostile invasion; this was in fact the area chosen for Operation Green, the projected German invasion of Ireland. In 1941, the Bloods became the spearhead of the newly acti- vated 5 Inf Bde. Headquartered in Kilkenny Castle, this formation was now responsible for the defence of Waterford and Wexford. By 1942, battalion troop strength was over a thousand and in August that year, the Bloods marched from Kilkenny over the Knockmealdown Mountains to the Blackwater River to take part in the divi- sional level exercises that month. The battalion soldiered on until the end of the Emergency in 1945 when the 5 Inf Bde was disbanded and such posts as Bawnjames Camp, Flood Hall and Ballybricken Gaol were closed down. In 1946, the battalion returned to the Cur- ragh and was based in Connolly Barracks, its home for the next fifty years. It soon re-established itself as the demonstration unit of the Military College, beginning with the formation of an anti-tank troop. In 1955, the battalion made a near "clean sweep" at the All-Army Championships and in 1956 participated in Exercise Youghal, marching there and back again. In 1958, the internment camp in the Curragh was opened to deal with the resurgent IRA and the battalion was heavily committed to guard duties there. In 1960 members of the unit deployed to the Congo with the UN peacekeeping force, including BSM D. Douglas who had begun mili- tary service in the War of Independence. Five DSMs were awarded to Bloods, including Comdt Patrick Barry for his rescue of 250 civil- ians at Manono, Pte Christopher Doolan for his performance in the field in September 1961 and Capt James Flynn who led a unit in a thousand-mile pursuit of a Baluba war party in October 1961. The battalion however suffered its first overseas fatality when Cpl Liam Kelly (22) died as a result of an accidental shooting on Christmas Eve 1960 in the Congo. In 1965, the Battalion was presented with its colours, featuring the Red Hand of Ulster and the unit motto: "Dílis go Bráth." On the outbreak of the Northern troubles in 1969, battalion

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