Raised in 1683. After serving afloat as Marines it went to Flanders, where its splendid valour at the assault on the Castle of Namur on 20th August, 1695, won for it the admiration of the whole of the Allied army. This gallant feat, performed under the eyes of the King, won for the regiment the distinguished title of the Royal Regiment of Foot of Ireland, and the King conferred upon it the right of displaying the badge of the harp and crown, and that of the lion of Nassau, with the motto "Virtutis Namurcensis PrÆmium." Was one of the Irish Regiments which fought so gallantly in South Africa and to whose bravery the Irish Guards were raised in commemoration. "The Royal Irish" is the only one now in existence out of nineteen regiments raised in Ireland from independent companies of musketeers and pikemen.

Nicknames: "The Namurs," and "Paddy's Blackguards."