& The Tale of the Sandbag Soldier

This is an overview of the history of the Irish Defence Forces. "Fianna Fáil" mentioned in the video is also a name of a political party in Ireland. Ireland is neutral and not a member of NATO, all members are volunteers and there has never been conscription into the Irish army. Weapons I was trained on were up to Three Star Private level ( Private 1st class US military), those weapons were the No.4 Lee Enfield .303 rifle , .303 Bren light machine gun, 7.62 mm FN FAL (this weapon was issued to the reserve from the late 1990's onwards) , today the standard rifle for both permanent and reserve forces is the 5.56mm Steyr AUG. The reserve units mentioned in the video (F.C.A) were stood down in 2005 and a new model for reservists was introduced that integrated them with the full time members of the defence forces.The USS Fort Mc Henry was retired in 2021.
#Irisharmy #fca #irisharmyreserve
Greetings from Ireland! Welcome to my channel, that is dedicated to the history and culture of Ireland.This is not set out to be a history lesson, but a ramble through some stories you might find interesting about Ireland from an Irishman! Ireland has so many connections throughout the world from the emigration from this country over so many centuries, but those with Irish blood in their families always have a yearning to know more about thier "old country", this is my attempt to bring some of the history and culture they left behind. So if you fancy some tales about horsemen and highwaymen, banshee's and fairies, soldiers and rebels, legends and folklore, saints and scholars, please like and subscribe, I post once per month. Thank you for watching. Ronan.