An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir September / October 2023 www.military.ie/magazine 28 | IDFVA – HANDS ACROSS THE WATER TOUR ITALY 2023 BY FRAN "FARMER" REILLY T his tour came into being as a result of friendships being forged at the annual IDFVA St Patrick's Day parade where members of the Irish Defence Forces Veterans Association, The Irish Carabinieri Association, the 5th Infantry Battalion Association and The Irish Guards Association including other associations attend annually. This tour will be the beginning of a strong bond and future friendships between the various national and international veterans' associations. Members of The Irish Defence Forces Veterans Association and serving members were invited to attend the Carabinieri National Association Gathering in Ostia, Italy by The President of The Irish Carabinieri Association Mr Francesco Morelli. On arrival, we had the opportunity to stay in Francesco's Mountain village of Casalattico for a few days prior to travelling closer to Rome and staying in the Roma Capitol campsite. From there we had the chance to visit Rome and see the amazing monuments the city had to offer. We participated in various parades and watched a re-enactment of a mounted Carabinieri battle, we attended a concert consisting of carabinieri musicians who were amazing and had a special guest singer. On our last official event the parade marshal requested our serving piper Mr Vinny Murray to lead the association section of the parade. This was a great honour and the first time a visiting association was allowed to do so. Vinny our piper did us proud. We then returned to the mountain village of Casalattico to spend a few days. Not too far from the village was the Cassino War Cemetery. We travelled by minibus and paid our respects and laid a wreath at the Cassino War Cemetery to remember the Fallen. We also visited the Monte Cassino monastery and had the opportunity to do some range practice at a private range. We ended the trip with a BBQ which was organised by Francesco's wife Carmine, who made us feel welcome throughout the tour. We departed Francesco's Village in the mountains, the following day and heading towards Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport outside Rome for our onward journey home. We had an amazing time and made some new friends in the process. We would like to thank The President of The Irish Carabinieri Association, Mr Francesco Morelli and Mr Fran Farmer Reilly from The Irish Defence Forces Veterans Association because without either of them this trip would not have been possible. We would also like to express our gratitude to Mr Nicky Quinlan, Druids Craft and Paul Ferguson for their sponsorship and for providing personalised coins and polo shirts for the tour. The Colosseum, Rome, Italy: Dave Coffey, Fran Farmer Reilly, Eddie Mahady, Peter Downes, Vinny Murray, Christy Donavan, Noel Mc Donnell and Patrick Mc Grail. The Carabinieri memorial, Ostia, Italy: Dave Coffey, Thomas Hayes, Peter Downes, Christy Donavan, Fran Farmer Reilly, Nicky Quinlan, Vinny Murray (IDF Piper), Eddie Mahady, Francesco Morelli, Carmine Pisano, Noel Mc Donnell and Patrick Mc Grail (Photographer). The Cassino War Cemetery, Italy: Fran Farmer Reilly, Christy Donavan, Dave Coffey, Vinny Murray, Patrick Mc Grail, Francesco Morelli, Nicky Quinlan, Peter Downes and Thomas Hayes.

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