Flown during the 1916 Rising, however, the tricolour,
associated with separatism in the past, and capturing the
national imagination as the banner of the new revolutionary
Ireland, came to be acclaimed throughout the country as the
National Flag. It continued to be used officially between
1922 and 1937, when its position as the National Flag was
formally confirmed by the new Constitution, Article 7 of
which states: ‘The national flag is the tricolour of green,
white and orange’.
(http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/Historical_Information/
About_the_Constitution,_Flag,_Anthem_Harp/National_
Flag.html)
The Defence Forces, Óglaigh na hÉireann Badge
The badge design (common to all Corps and Services
and all orders of dress) is derived from the badge of the
Irish Volunteers, Óglaigh na h-Éireann, and was designed
by Professor Eoin MacNeill, Chairman of the National
Executive of the Irish Volunteers. This badge was
originally adopted by the Irish Volunteers in October 1914
as the official badge of the organisation. The Centrepiece
is formed of the letters ‘FF’. These letters signify ‘Fianna
Fáil’. The word ‘Fianna’ is the name of the ancient military
organisation (circa 3rd Century A.D.) forming what then
corresponded to the standing Army of the country. The
word ‘Fáil’ means ‘Destiny’.
One of the ancient names of Ireland was ‘Inishfáil’ (the
Isle of Destiny) and ‘Fianna Fáil’ thus signifies the ‘Fianna
(or Army) of Ireland’. The two letters are surrounded by
a representation of an ancient warrior’s sword belt and
a circle of flames which represent the ‘Sunburst’ - the
traditional battle symbol of the Fianna. The words ‘Óglaigh
na h-Éireann’ inscribed around the sword belt mean
‘Soldiers of Ireland’. No particular significance is attached
to the representation of the star which was included to
balance the design.
Participating Units
Units from throughout the Defence Forces will participate in this
Ceremony over the months of July and August 2016 as follows:
JULY
UNIT / STATION
Saturday 16th at 12:00hrs
2 Artillery Regiment, Custume
Barracks, Athlone, Co Westmeath
and 28 Infantry Battalion, Finner
Camp, Ballyshannon, Co Donegal.
Saturday 23rd at 12:00hrs
1 Artillery Regiment, Collins
Barracks, Cork and
Naval Service, Haulbowline, Cobh,
Co Cork.
Saturday 30th at 09:30hrs
12 Infantry Battalion, Sarsfield
Barracks, Limerick and
1 Infantry Battalion, Renmore,
Galway.
AUGUST
UNIT / STATION
Saturday 06th at 12:00hrs
6 Infantry Battalion, Custume
Barracks, Athlone, Co Westmeath
and 27 Infantry Battalion, Aiken
Barracks, Dundalk, Co Louth.
Saturday 13th at 12:00hrs
3 Infantry Battalion, Stephens
Barracks, Kilkenny and
1 Armoured Calvary Squadron,
Defence Forces Training Centre,
Curragh Camp, Co Kildare.
Saturday 20th at 12:00hrs
Air Corps, Casement Aerodrome,
Baldonnel, Dublin and
7 Infantry Battalion,
Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin.
The total time for the ceremony is approximately one hour.
The
Military
Guard
Ceremony
2016
The National Memorial,
Merrion Square Park, Dublin
The National Memorial, in Merrion Square, Dublin
was unveiled by President Mary McAleese in
November 2008 and is the National Memorial
to members of the Defence Forces, Óglaigh na
h-Éireann, who died in the service of the State.
It is a place of contemplation and remembrance,
where families, relatives and members of the
public can reflect on the sacrifice our fallen
comrades have made for Ireland.
The National Memorial at Merrion Square Park
The Guard Takes Post
Last Post and Reveille
The Sergeant will then move to a position facing the
Monument and order the Section to take post. An Inner
Guard of four personnel will be established at the memorial
itself. These sentinels will be posted at ‘Rest on Arms
Reversed’. This posture is a mark of respect to all members
of the Defence Forces who died in the service of the State.
During this ceremony two bugle calls will be heard - ‘Last
Post’ followed by the raising of the National Flag, in turn
followed by ‘Reveille’. These two calls are customarily
used within the Defence Forces during commemoration
ceremonies, wreath laying ceremonies and military
funerals. The symbolism of these two calls in this context
becomes clear when one examines their historical use. The
‘Last Post’ call was traditionally used to signal the end of
a tour of inspection of a military garrison at the end of a
day by the duty officer. ‘Last Post’ was also used to signal
the end of battle to those wounded in the field. The call,
‘Reveille’ is traditionally
used to wake up military
personnel at the start of
the day. The name comes
from ‘réveillez’, the French
command to ‘wake up’, and
symbolises resurrection.
Patrolling the Beat
The pyramid shape of the memorial, which was designed
by renowned Irish sculptor, Brian King, Aosdana, captures
references to burial and is a standing testament to the dead.
Within the pyramid, four bronze figures, representing
the elements of the Defence Forces, stand guard over an
eternal flame that emanates from the badge of the Defence
Forces, Óglaigh na h-Éireann. Made primarily of granite
slabs resting on a steel frame, it is located in a quiet area
of Archbishop Ryan’s park, Merrion Square West. The
flame burns in perpetual memory of those members of the
Defence Forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice in
the service of the state.
The remaining four
personnel, the Outer
Guard, will patrol a
beat, or ceremonial area
of responsibility on the
footpath outside the
gates. One sentry will
stand guard either side
of the gates whilst the other two will turn out and slowmarch the beat, left and right of the gateway. On reaching
the extremity of the beat (20m each side) they will about
turn and slow-march back to the gate.
Changing of the Guard
Members of the Defence Forces, and all Irish people who
died in past wars or on service with the United Nations are
commemorated annually on the Sunday nearest July 11 in
The National Day of Commemoration, Lá Cuimhneacháin
Náisiúnta. Ceremonies are also held annually in all military
barracks throughout the country in November, in Ireland, a
traditional month for commemoration of the deceased.
When the Outer Guard has complete the beat, which takes
approximately 3 minutes, the Inner and Outer Guard will
rotate roles. This will be done on the orders of the Platoon
Sergeant. The Outer Guard will march in from the outer
footpath and take positions adjacent to the Inner Guard. The
Inner Guard will be brought to the Slope Arms position and
marched out to conduct the beat duty. The new Inner Guard
will take post and adopt the ‘Rest on Reversed Arms’ posture.
OUTLINE OF THE MILITARY GUARD CEREMONY
The Guard Withdraws
The Guard Parades
A Section of eight personnel
will march from Leinster
Lawn and parade outside the
gates of the Memorial under
the command of the Platoon
Sergeant. The Section
will be dressed off and the
Lieutenant will take charge. A Salute will be rendered as a
mark of respect to the National Flag. The National Flag will
then be lowered to half-mast. The Platoon Sergeant will
then be instructed to carry on and he will salute the Officer,
who will return the salute and march off Parade.
When the beat is complete, the Platoon Sergeant will withdraw
the Inner Guard and the Section will again parade on the
footpath outside the gates of the memorial. The guard will be
handed over to the Lieutenant and then the ‘Rest on Reversed
Arms’ posture will be adopted for the final time. A minutes
silence will be observed. A drum beat will signal the end of
the minute’s silence and Last Post will
be sounded. The Guard will adopt the
‘Carry Arms’ position and the National
Flag will be hoisted to full-mast. The
Guard will salute and Reveille will be
played. Once Reveille is complete the
Ceremony is over. The Guard will turn
left and withdraw to Leinster Lawn.
The History of the National Flag
The Irish Tricolour is intended to symbolise the inclusion
and hoped-for union of the people of different traditions
on this island, now expressed in the Constitution as the
entitlement of every person born in Ireland to be part of the
Irish nation. A green flag with harp was an older symbol
of the nation, going back at least to Confederate Ireland
and Owen Roe O’Neill in the 1640s, and was subsequently
widely adopted, especially by the United Irishmen. A rival
organisation, the Orange Order, was founded in 1795
in memory of King William of Orange and the ‘glorious
revolution’ of 1689.
Following the 1798 Rebellion which pitted orange against
green, the ideal of a later Nationalist generation in the
mid-nineteenth century was to make peace between them
and, if possible, to found a self-governing Ireland on such
peace and union. Irish tricolours were mentioned from
1830 and from March of 1848 they appeared side by side
with French ones at meetings held all over the country to
celebrate the revolution that had just taken place in France.
In April, Thomas Francis Meagher, the Young Ireland
leader, brought a tricolour of orange, white and green from
Paris and presented it to a Dublin meeting. John Mitchel,
referring to it, said: ‘I hope to see that flag one day waving,
as our national banner’. After 1848, the tricolour was little
used, and the green flag held undisputed sway until the eve
of the 1916 Rising.