ROYAL IRISH REGT. - 1684 - 1922

[Mervyn Mitton]

Very rare side drum (often called a 'snare') for one of the British older Regiments.

THE ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT was originally formed in 1684 as the 18th. Regiment of Foot. One has to remember that King Charles 2nd. died in 1683 and his brother - King James 2nd. was forced out of Britain - he was Catholic and became known as the 'Old Pretender'. His son was 'Bonnie' Prince Charles - who became the 'young pretender' and invaded England in the 1740's. England had difficulty in finding a replacement for James and eventually settled on the daughter of King Charles 1 st. (who was be-headed by the Parliamentarians under Cromwell) - she had married the Prince of Orange - ruler of Holland. She would only return if her husband - Prince William, was made joint ruler and so it happened that for the first and only time, Britain had a King and a Queen - and not a Monarch and Consort.

With the expulsion of James - and his settling in France and trying to cause revolution, many extra Regiments were formed - The 18th. of Foot being one of them.

The Battle Honours shown are quite exceptional - they were present at all of the Duke of Marlborough's battle in France - and when you read through them - they were present at most during the 18th. and 19th. Centuries. The Regiment was disbanded in 1922 - with the Dissolution of Ireland - however, they were re-formed in 1992 with regiments from Northern Ireland. A 238 year old history to be proud of !!

Military side drums - of this quality - are exceptionally rare on the market and are worth many thousands of Pounds. We can tell a lot from the details on this one and , can date it quite accurately. When the Regt. was dis-banded in 1922 the drums were probably gifts to the different Colonels of the Regt. - and with death, this one probably came onto the Market. All of the painting is hand done - and the artist - Collins - signed in the lower right corner. The drum is also signed Hawkes. This was the maker and Boosey and Hawkes are one of the great names in British military bands.

The Royal Cypher is for King George 5th. - who came to the Throne in 1910. The drum was probably made especially for the Coronation Procession in 1911. World War One started in 1914 and the Regt. ceased after 1922 - so, to me, there is a narrow window for dates - 1910 to 1914 - because, we weren't making drums after 1914 !

This has to be one of the rarer items posted on GMIC and I will welcome any additional information.

**NOT FOR REPRODUCTION OR, USE, WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION**

[Mervyn Mitton]

[Mervyn Mitton]

[Mervyn Mitton]