Dates for 2024
Saturday 11 May to Thursday 16 May – 80th anniversary pilgrimage to Italy.
Itinerary:
11 May – Arrival in Italy.
12 May – Remembrance at Minturno CWGC Cemetery, Garigliano River Battlefield, Municipality commemorations at Castelforte.
13 May – Abbey of Monte Cassino and the Polish Cemetery.
14 May – Remembrance at Cassino CWGC Cemetery, Liri Valley Battlefield.
15 May – Remembrance at Anzio CWGC Cemeteries, Anzio Battlefield.
16 May – Casa Sinagoga.
Full details/timings of all events here.
Saturday 1 June – AGM/Annual Lunch at London Scottish House.
1100 – Annual General Meeting.
1300 – Annual Lunch.
Booking details have been sent out to members.
Find out more by contacting us on webmaster@londonirishrifles.com
Wednesday 12 June – Commemorations of the Liberation of Rome at the Vatican.
0900 – Audience with Pope Francis to mark the 80th anniversary of 38 (Irish) Brigade’s visit to Rome on 12 June 1944
(Tickets for the Public Audience can be applied for via the Vatican website).
Saturday 15 June – Service of Thanksgiving for the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Rome at Aldershot Cathedral.
1130 – Presided by Bishop Mason, Bishop of the Forces.
Sunday 16 June – Combined Irish Regiments’ Parade in Whitehall.
0930/1000 – Assemble in King Charles Street.
1030 – Parade to the Cenotaph.
1200 – Refreshments at the Civil Service Club.
Sunday 22 September – Loos Sunday at Connaught House.
1000/1030 – Assemble.
1100 – On Parade.
Thursday 7 November – Field of Remembrance in Westminster.
1100 – Poppy Cross Plots at Westminster Abbey (Ticket only).
1400 – Combined Irish Regiments’ Service in St Patrick’s Chapel at Westminster Cathedral.
Sunday 10 November – Remembrance Sunday at Connaught House.
1000/1030 – Assemble.
1100 – On Parade.
CALENDAR OF ANNUAL EVENTS:
At the St Patrick’s Parade, Shamrock is distributed to members of No 15 (Loos) Company, the Regimental Association and the Army Cadet Force.
In either May or June, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Regimental Association is held and this is followed by the Annual Lunch. All members are welcome to attend the AGM and join the luncheon.
In June, members of the Regimental Association and the Pipes and Drums parade at the Combined Irish Regiments’ Service of Remembrance in Whitehall.
On Loos Sunday, we remember the outstanding courage that the Regiment displayed during the Great War, and in particular when men of the London Irish showed their character and determination at the Battle of Loos in September 1915.
There is a Parade at Connaught House on Remembrance Sunday. In addition, the Field of Remembrance outside Westminster Abbey includes a section remembering men of the London Irish Rifles and we attend the opening ceremony on the preceding Thursday and the Combined Irish Regiments hold a service at St Patrick’s Chapel in Westminster Cathedral on the same day.
In recent years, we have commemorated the Foundation of the Regiment in December with a small scale gathering at the Freemasons’ Arms in London, close to where the Regiment was founded in 1859.
In December, also, our Northern Ireland branch lead a Commemorative Service at Belfast City Hall to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Stormberg, which took place at the start of the Boer War in 1899.
Other events can be arranged at shorter notice, and you will find updated details here on this web site.