An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir September / October 2023 www.military.ie/magazine 22 | BY CAPT BRIAN CLARKE, ARTILLERY SCHOOL O n 01 June 2023 gunners both serving and retired gathered in Collins Barracks Cork, home of 1 Brigade Artillery Regiment (1 BAR), to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Artillery Corps. The Artillery Corps was formally established after the Civil War in order to add a full time professional fire support element to the Defence Forces. Artillery guns were used throughout the Civil War by the National Army against the Anti-Treaty IRA, but these guns were used by line infantry soldiers without proper training and a wider understanding of indirect fire support and its application in conventional warfare. The first Artillery unit formed under the command of then Colonel P.A. Mulcahy in Islandbridge Barracks on 23 March 1923. Prior to the Civil War Colonel Mulcahy served in the British Army during the First World War on the Western Front, and subsequently in the IRA during the War of Independence. Despite having no experience in the proper use of Artillery, Mulcahy and his Battery of 11 officers and 62 other ranks paraded and began the process of creating and developing Ireland's Artillery Corps. 100 years later, the parade held to mark the centenary of the foundation of the corps was made up of exactly 11 officers and 62 other ranks. DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARTILLERY CORPS Some officers of the new Artillery Corps first underwent gunnery training with the United States Army, and subsequently officers began training frequently with the British Royal Artillery. Frequent training in gunnery with the Royal Artillery imparted a style of training and operating that was easily identifiable as being of a somewhat British tradition. This includes the Irish Artillery Corps' distinctive gun drill and words of command given in English instead of Irish that is still used today during gunnery practice. The tradition of close cooperation with the British Royal School of Artillery continues today with NCOs and officers often participating in courses and training in the UK. During the inter-war period, the Artillery Corps saw further expansion of its roles and associated equipment and tactical modernisation. The Corps moved away from horse drawn guns to towed howitzer systems, the addition of an air defence role as well as the formalisation of its coastal artillery responsibilities during the Second World War. Prior to the war, the Corps had a total of 28 Field Artillery Batteries and 1 Anti-Aircraft Battery between regular and reserve forces. By 1943 the Corps had reorganised to include 6 Field Artillery Regiments, an Anti-Aircraft Battalion, and a larger Coastal Artillery branch. The Anti-Aircraft Battery was the first element of the Artillery Corps to see any action since the Civil War, having fired at German aircraft on a number of occasions in at least Clontarf, Ringsend, Ballyfermot, Stillorgan, Collinstown, and Dalkey during German bombings on neutral Ireland. PEACE SUPPORT OPERATIONS The Artillery Corps would later prove itself to be a vital part of Ireland's involvement in international Peace Support Operations. The Corps first deployed overseas in a fire support role in 1960 as part of Ireland's contribution to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Congo, (ONUC). In 1962 and 1963 the Irish Heavy Mortar Troop of the 38th Infantry Battalion, drawn primarily from the now disbanded 4th Field Artillery Regiment, provided significant amounts of fire in support of friendly forces engaging in battalion and brigade level attacks. Since these early days of Irish peacekeeping, the Artillery Corps has been in an ARTILLERY CORPS CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF SERVICE 18 Pdr Gun Being fired by Free State Army, 1922 Artillery Corps 3.7 Inch AA Gun, WW2 Era RUAG 120mm Heavy Mortar Shoot L119 105mm Gun High Angle Shoot GOC 1 Bde Brig Gen Brian Cleary, Chief of Staff Lt Gen Sean Clancy, and RSM (Retd) Podge O'Driscoll lay wreaths in Remembrance of Deceased Gunners. 11 Officers and 62 Other Ranks on Parade

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