Pictures: Kilkenny's barracks celebrates oldest army unit - 3rd Infantry Battalion

Tthe 3rd Infantry Battalion celebrated the centenary of its formation and 25 years at its home base in James Stephens Barracks, Kilkenny recently.

One of the army’s largest units — and indeed one of the largest employers in Kilkenny and the surrounding counties — the Battalion has a strength of almost 450 personnel. READ MORE BELOW OR CLICK '>' ABOVE FOR PICS

The 3rd Infantry Battalion is the oldest army unit of the Irish Defence Forces and traces its foundation back to January 1923. It played a critical role in national defence preparations during World War II period and during the Troubles.

The Battalion – known affectionately as ‘The Bloods’ — has had a long-standing relationship with Kilkenny and the South-East since its deployment there throughout World War II and The Emergency period.

Almost 100 of the battalion’s soldiers returned home only recently from Syria, and the unit has served on many UN-mandated missions overseas since 1960, including in the Congo, Mali, Chad, Lebanon, Liberia and Kosovo.

The 3rd Infantry Battalion is also the lead unit deploying to the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon in November 2023.
Locals will have seen the exceptional work carried out by the battalion during the recent pandemic at vaccination centres, testing sites and in manning contact tracing call centres.
Its soldiers – including many sporting legends such as Kieran Brennan, Paul Murphy, and Stacey Keogh, have been at the heart of communities in the South-East for many years.

The Ceremony
Although Friday’s centenary parade was not open to the public, families of serving soldiers and veterans of the unit were invited to the event. The ceremony included live music from the Band of 1 Brigade under the baton of Captain Fergal Carroll.

Veteran pipers of the 3rd Infantry Battalion also performed on the day, including a special rendition of the battalion’s marching tune, The Dawning of The Day’ on the barrack square. Dignitaries including local TDs, the Mayor of Kilkenny, the Dean of St Canice’s Cathedral, the battalion’s chaplain, and the General Officer Commanding 1 Brigade also attended.

The celebration saw four companies from the 3rd Infantry Battalion on parade as well as a representative body from a sister unit in the Curragh, 1 Mechanised Infantry (1MIC) whose origins lie with B Company, 3rd Battalion.

The soldiers of 1 MIC provided armoured vehicles on display, joined by the iconic Sliabh na mBan 1922 Rolls Royce armoured car which is just about the same age as the battalion.

The parade included the traditional blessing and presentation of new unit colours to commemorate the centenary. The event was followed by the opening of the refurbished veterans’ centre and a new museum exhibition and oral history collection entitled ‘Bloods 100’.