An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir July/August 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 24 | by SGT STEPHEN CONRAN, 2 BDE CAV SQN T here are a few occasions that stand out for me during my 15 years in the Defence Forces as moments where pride and a sense of honour have genuinely moved me: being promoted to NCO in 2004 as my family looked on; marching proudly past the GPO for the 90th Anniversary of the Easter Rising; and being part of the Irish team that won first place in the international category in the Royal Marines' Commando Speed March, in Scotland in 2009. These are certainly cherished memories. However, it is without hesitation or reservation that I confess that the single greatest privilege for me to date has been becoming the first RDF soldier to ride a motorcycle in a ceremonial escort of hon- our (EOH) with my unit, 2 Cav Sqn. The function of the EOH is to add dignity and prestige to ceremonial occasions. The motorcycle escort also controls the pace of the motorcade, with precision timing incorporated into the escort, working in conjunction with all branches involved in the given ceremonial event, and often working in tandem with the national broadcaster. This most prestigious and coveted duty has a long history with this unit, going back to the 1950s. In 1959 the then 2 Motor Sqadron escorted Eamonn de Valera to his inauguration to become the third president of Ireland, and the unit, in its various guises, has been present as part of the inauguration ceremony of every president since. Escorts of honour are also often provided for state visits and have included Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Mo- naco, and US presidents Kennedy, Reagan and Clinton. In 1963 President Kennedy was so impressed by the performance of the motorcycle escort that he insisted on shaking the hand of every participant and presented each with a tie-pin as an acknowledgment of his gratitude. On Thursday 30th April 2015, I proudly took part in escorting the ambassadors of Chile, Egypt, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to Áras an tUachtarán to present their credentials to President Michael D Higgins, before escorting them back to the Dept of Foreign Affairs. The road (excuse the pun) to this landmark event - both for the unit and the RDF as a whole - has been a long one. Under- standably, 2 Cav Sqn was cautious about widening the pool of motorcyclists for ceremonial escorts given the importance of maintaining standards and traditions. However, the unit was open to the concept when first raised and at all levels person- nel were extremely supportive of its implementation. In terms of my motorcycling background, I am not a nov- ice, which certainly helped. I completed my dispatch riders (DR) course with 2 Cav Sqn at the age of 23 in 2006, while on attachment from 62 Res Cav Sqn (which has since been amalgamated with 2 Cav). This course was comprised of PDF personnel with the exception of me and one other RDF mem- ber (who has since joined the Western Australia Police Force). We completed our DR course on the Kawasaki GT550s (now out of service), which was a great thrill, knowing those bikes had been used on escorts of honour from 1990 to 1998 before becoming part of the training fleet. I got an even bigger thrill in 2007 while part of the inte- grated reserve element with 2 Cav Sqn when I completed my advanced motorcycle training on the blue Honda Deauville NT650s, the EOH bikes of the day. This was only bettered when I got the privilege of riding the current Honda Deauville NT700s in an EOH, which gave me a feeling of immense personal satisfaction. Since completing my DR course and subsequently obtaining my civilian motorcycle license, I have always had motorcycles and commute on them daily. I'm an avid motorcycle enthusi- ast and a member of the Green Knights Military Motorcycle Association (Chapter 59). I have restored several motorbikes, including an old Kawasaki GT550, done up to Army specifica- tion, a replica of the motorcycle I completed my DR course on. The lead up to taking part in this honourable duty, required several additional voluntary days of training to learn 'the ropes' in relation to formation driving, procedure en route, protocol at the Áras, uniform preparation, motorcycle clean- ing, etc. An Escort 2 Cav Sqn performing an Escort of Honour for HM Queen Elizabeth II, during her historical visit to Ireland in 2011. Photos by: Cpl Greg Dorney retd

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