Celebrations to mark centenary of 6th Infantry Battalion
A formal parade will take place within Athlone's Custume Barracks on Tuesday, January 24 next to mark the centenary of the first establishment of the 6th Infantry Battalion.
General Officer Commanding 2 Brigade Brigadier General Tony Cudmore will be invited to inspect the personnel of 6th Infantry Battalion to mark the special occasion, which gets underway at 11.30am.
The six 6th Infantry Battalion was first established on January 24, 1923, as part of attempts to organise the newly-established national army. It was established alongside the 27th, 19th, 17th and 9th Battalions as part of the Kerry Command which had its headquarters in Tralee.
The early history of this unit designation speaks of rotation, change and even disestablishment with the unit seeing service in Galway, Longford and Donegal before being disestablished for the first time between 1926 and 1927.
In 1927 the designation of the 9th Infantry Battalion, stationed at Collins Barracks in Dublin, was changed to 6th Battalion and the unit was reborn.
The unit continued up until 1946 when, following demobilisation after WWII, the remaining personnel of the 6th Battalion, the 8th (Thomond) Battalion, the 17th and the 20th Battalions were amalgamated into the 6th Infantry Battalion. This unit was based in Custume Barracks, Athlone which has been its home ever since.
“While the early history of the unit is less of a single unit's history and more a reflection of a history of the entire organisation it still very much reflects who we are today as a unit and our origins as a unit of Óglaigh na hÉireann,” said Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Clear, current Office Commanding 6th Infantry Battalion.
While the parade within Custume Barracks on Tuesday, January 24 next will not be open to the public an open invitation has been issued to all retired members of 6th Infantry Battalion to attend. The day will conclude with light refreshments and an opportunity for past and present members of the 6th Infantry Battalion to catch up.