- The Irish Army draws it's beginnings from the "Irish Volunteers" formed on 25 November 1913. There then formed a body of Volunteers who aimed to:
- Secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to all the people of Ireland's.
- Train for this end, discipline, arm and equip a body of Irish Volunteers
- Unite for this purpose all Irishmen without distinction of creed, class or politics
This event was closely followed by the Great War and the 1916 Rising in Dublin by the Volunteers. The aftermath of this failed uprising was to encourage the people of Ireland to revolt. The Volunteers gave their allegiance in 1918 to the Parliament established in Dublin. They thereupon became known as the Irish Republican Army. In three years of bloody fighting, the IRA fought the forces of Britain to a standstill using guerrilla tactics. Following the signing of the Anglo Irish Treaty on 6th December 1921 the country was engulfed in an equally bloody Civil War which finally came to an end in April 1923.
The Army in the 1920's and 30's dropped in numbers to very low levels along with which, the equipment of the forces was very poor in quantity and in nature. In an effort back up the permanent defense forces, a system of reserves was put in place to create a back up in time of need. In the late 1930's, this time was fast approaching....
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The Air Corps was set up during early 1922 in the aftermath of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (December 1921) which marked the end of the Irish War of Independence against Britain. The command became operational at Baldonnel Aerodrome in April 1922 under the command of Maj. Gen. T. W. McSweeney, with Maj. Gen. C. F. Russell as second in command. The first three years of its existence found the corps involved in limited combat operations during the Irish Civil War. Equipment at this time included the ubiquitous DH9, Martinsyde F4 and Avro 504 types.
Following this period and throughout the 1920's the Corps continued to increase it's operations and experience, culminating in the east to west conquest of the Atlantic by the Germans Kohl and von Huenefeld together with the then Air Corps OC, James Fitzmaurice.
The thirties were a time of expansion with the purchase of new aircraft to replace the WW 1 era types in use and the introduction of monoplanes in the form of the Avro Anson I in 1937. By this time of course storm clouds were brewing not far from the peaceful skies of Ireland and soon the IAC would have to fly to defend their country....
Set up as with the other two commands in the early period of 1922, the original Coastal and Marine Service was tasked with the policing of Irish fisheries and customs. This was disbanded in 1924 however and it was not until the outbreak of the World War that the Marine and Coastwatching Service was set up.
| Reserves
- Second Line Reserve
- Local Defence Force (LDF)
- Special Intelligence Service (SIS)
- Naval Inscription
- Local Security Force (LSF) - (Under Garda Control)
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