Royal Irish Regiment welcomed home

Soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment march past the Shirehall.

Hundreds of people thronged the streets of Shrewsbury to show their support for the soldiers from 1st Battalion The Royal Irish as they marched through the town.

The homecoming parade took place on Tuesday 12 April 2011 and was followed by a special service at Shrewsbury Abbey.  The regiment, based at Tern Hill barracks near Market Drayton, has been on a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan, and about 300 soldiers and officers took part in the parade.

Shropshire Council chairman, Malcolm Pate, said he was delighted with how the parade went.

“These soldiers and officers have been serving their country for six months in very difficult and dangerous circumstances thousands of miles from home,” Councillor Pate said.  “It was great to see the people of Shropshire turn out in good numbers to welcome them home.”

The Battalion marched from the Abbey to Shirehall in October 2008, but this time they paraded through the heart of Shrewsbury itself, starting at the castle, going up Castle Street, along St Mary’s Street and Dogpole, and down Wyle Cop to the Abbey. 

Commanding officer, Lt Col Colin Weir MBE, said: “We have always been made to feel welcome by the people of Shropshire and this is now being reinforced by the invitation of Shropshire Council to parade through the streets of Shrewsbury. We are honoured to have been asked, and after six months in Afghanistan, the parade was a fitting finale to what has been a gruelling operational deployment.”