Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers was an Irish infantry regiment of the British Army , formed by the amalgamation of the 87th ( Prince of Wales ' s Irish ) Regiment of Foot and the 89th ( The Princess Victoria ' s ) Regiment of Foot in 1881 . The regiment ' s first title in 1881 was Princess Victoria ' s ( Royal Irish Fusiliers ) , changed in 1920 to The Royal Irish Fusiliers ( Princess Victoria ' s ) . Between the time of its formation and Irish independence , it was one of eight Irish regiment s . In 1968 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Royal Ulster Rifles to become the Royal Irish Rangers . Early history of constituent regiments . The 87th and 89th Regiments of Foot both saw extensive service in the Napoleonic Wars . At the Battle of Barrosa in 1811 the 2nd battalion of the 87th became famous as the first British Army unit to capture a French Imperial eagle in battle . It was during the Peninsular War that the regiment got its nickname , the Faughs , from their Irish war cry " Faugh A Ballagh " ( Fág a ' Bealach , meaning Clear the Way ) . The 87th Regiment subsequently saw service in the Burmese War of 1824 - 26 , where the battle honour " Ava " was gained . The 89th Regiment served in the Crimean War ( 1854 ) and the Indian Mutiny ( 1857 ) . Following amalgamation in 1885 battalions of the Royal Irish Fusiliers saw active service in Egypt and the Sudan ( 1882 and 1898 ) and the Boer War ( 1899 – 1902 ) . Prior to World War I . Militarily , the whole of Ireland was administered as a separate command within the United Kingdom with Command Headquarters at Parkgate ( Phoenix Park ) Dublin , directly under the War Office in London . In peace - time the Royal Irish Fusiliers had the counties of Armagh , Monaghan and Cavan as its recruiting area . The regimental garrison depot was located at Armagh town . The pre - 1914 full dress of the regiment comprised a scarlet tunic with dark blue facings , worn with dark blue trousers and the standard fusilier racoon - skin cap . Regimental distinctions included a green plume worn on the left side of the headdress and an Irish harp as part of the badge . World War I . Battalions of the regiment served with the 10th Irish Division and 36th ( Ulster ) Division during World War I . The 1st Battalion fought at Le Cateau , the Marne , the Somme , Arras , Cambrai and Ypres , losing 1 , 058 dead throughout the War . The 2nd Battalion served on the Western Front , Macedonia and Palestine . In addition to the two regular battalions , a further six were raised during 1914 - 18 . The regiment as a whole won 44 battle honours in the course of the War , suffering 3 , 181 dead and more than 15 , 000 wounded . 6th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers in the Gallipoli Campaign . The 6th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers received orders to embark for service in the Dardanelles on 9 July 1915 as part of the 31st Brigade , 10th ( Irish ) Division . At the time the battalion was with the rest of the 10th ( Irish ) Division ( less Divisional Artillery which had been sent to France previously ) in Basingstoke having just completed their training . The Division was part of Kitcheners New Army ; made up generally of raw recruits with a sprinkling of older men who had already seen military service ( i . e . Boer War and India ) and who had either been recalled to the colours or had volunteered on the outbreak of war . The battalion left Basingstoke in successive train loads on 12 July arriving at Keyham Dockyard , Plymouth where they were to embark upon the SS Canada . Owing to non - arrival of the vessel , the battalion located to a rest camp at Pull Point , Devonport overnight . On 13 July the battalion and ammunition column commenced embarkation upon the SS Canada , setting sail the following day at 5 pm . The vessel passed Gibraltar on 18 July and arrived in Malta on 21 July for coaling . The vessel then sailed for Alexandria ; arriving on 24 July . On 26 July the vessel arrived at Mudros Harbour , Lemnos Island and during the period to 31 July the battalion participated in the disembarkation and sorting of stores and equipment ; it having been recognised that equipment had not been loaded securely or in the correct order . On the evening of 31 July the SS Canada sailed for Mytilene Harbour , Lesbos Island arriving on 1 August . During the next few days the battalion undertook route marches around the island . A part of the battalion was inspected by General Sir Ian Hamilton ; C in C Mediterranean Expeditionary Force . On 5 August the battalion received orders to be prepared to move by 12 noon the following day to a destination not yet stated . At 5 - 30 pm on 6 August the battalion sailed to Suvla Bay , Gallipoli aboard the minesweepers “ Snaefell ” and “ Honeysuckle ” . At this time the battalion comprised 778 officers and other ranks . At 4 - 35 am on 7 August the “ Snaefell ” and “ Honeysuckle ” arrived off Suvla Bay under heavy shrapnel fire . A landing was made at 8 - 30 am with the battalion going into action in support of the 5th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers and East Yorkshire Regiment at 9 am the same morning . On its first day of action the battalion suffered casualties of 1 officer wounded , 12 other ranks killed and 76 other ranks wounded or missing . Overnight the battalion occupied trenches atop Hill 53 and during the following days provided support and reinforcement to other troops attacking Hill 70 . During the period 8 to 9 August the battalion suffered further casualties of 5 officers killed , 12 officers wounded or missing , 12 other ranks killed and 220 other ranks wounded or missing . The battalion was suffering from the environment in which they were serving and existed on the “ iron ” rations with which they had landed since no supplies were able to get to them . Having received supplies late on 9 August ; the battalion held Hill 53 until relieved by the Essex Regiment on 10 August . The battalion was rested in reserve lines for the next few days . The battalion moved into support trenches on 13 August and the following day received reinforcements of 5 officers and 159 other ranks from the battalion reserve at Mudros . During 15 to 16 August the battalion was engaged in heavy fighting against Turkish Infantry on the Kiretch Tepe Ridge suffering losses of 10 officers and 210 other ranks killed , wounded or missing . The battalion located to support trenches or rest areas during the period 17 August to 29 September taking part in almost daily skirmishes with the Turkish Infantry . On 1 September the battalion was now recorded as comprising 5 officers and 388 other ranks , as well as losses through enemy action the battalion was increasingly suffering from ill health . At 4 am on 30 September the battalion left Suvla Bay ; arriving at Lemnos Island at 8 - 30 am on the same day . The 5th and 6th Battalions Royal Irish Fusiliers were subsequently amalgamated and continued service together until the cessation of hostilities in 1918 . The 5 / 6th served in Salonika / the Balkans then were sent to Palestine . In 1918 they were transferred to France and became part of the 48th Brigade in the 16th ( Irish ) Division . By November 1918 they had advanced to the border with Belgium . 1916 Easter Rising . The Royal Irish Fusiliers fought against the Irish rebels , who were fighting to end British rule in Ireland and to establish the Irish Republic during the Easter Rising . Two of the Royal Irish Fusiliers were killed and six more wounded . Battle honours . The Regiment was awarded the following battle honours . Those shown in bold from the two World Wars were those selected to be emblazoned on the Kings ' s Colour . Victoria Cross . Recipients of the Victoria Cross : Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum . The Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum is located on the Mall in Armagh , County Armagh , Northern Ireland The exhibits include uniforms , medals , regalia and the two Victoria Crosses won by the Regiment . The Regimental archive and library may be viewed by appointment . External links . city