Military history of Ireland

The military history of Ireland comprises thousands of years of armed actions in the territory encompassing the island of Ireland.

The Battle of Clontarf in 1014 saw a large force of Vikings and their Irish allies defeated by the forces of the High King of Ireland.

Ireland was never invaded by the Roman Empire, and the island remained a warring collection of separate kingdoms throughout its early history. Although it is known that the Romans traded with the Irish kingdoms, historically it was thought that the Romans never established a military presence in Ireland. In recent times the find of ruins of a possibly Roman fort in Drumanagh near Dublin has questioned this belief.^[1]

After the November 2015 Paris attacks killed more than 130 people in France, the French government invoked a mutual defence clause of the Treaty of Lisbon, asking for military assistance from the European Union. The Irish government agreed to deploy peacekeeping troops to Mali in order to free up French troops stationed there for deployment elsewhere.^[2]

Royal Air Force stations in Northern Ireland

Name	Opened	Closed	Current use	Notes
RAF Aldergrove	February 1918		Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove	[3]
RAF Ballyhalbert	June 1941	February 1946	Ballyhalbert Caravan Park	[4]
RAF Ballykelly	June 1941	June 1971		[5]
RAF Bishops Court	April 1943	December 1990	Bishopscourt Racing Circuit	[6]
RAF Boa Island	May 1944	May 1945	Slipway	[7]
RAF Castle Archdale	February 1941	January 1958	Castle Archdale Caravan Park & Camping Site	[8]
RAF Cluntoe	October 1942	1959	Ardboe Business Park	[9]
RAF Eglinton	April 1941		City of Derry Airport	[10]
RAF Greencastle	July 1942	1947	Farmland	[11]
RAF Killadeas	March 1941	May 1947	Marina	[12]
RAF Kirkistown	July 1941	1946	Kirkistown Circuit	[13]
RAF Langford Lodge No. 20 SLG	May 1941	1953	Industry	[14]
RAF Limavady	December 1940	1958	Aghanloo Industrial Estate	[15]
RAF Long Kesh	November 1941	October 1947	Balmoral Park	[16]
RAF Maghaberry No. 101 Storage Sub Site	November 1941	1950s	Maghaberry Solar Farm	[17]
RAF Maydown	April 1941	1947	Maydown Industrial Estate	[18]
RAF Mullaghmore	August 1942	1946	Aghadowey Stadium	[19]
RAF Murlough No. 19 SLG	March 1941	February 1945	Farmland	[20]
RAF Newtownards	August 1934		Newtownards Airport	[21]
RAF Nutts Corner	June 1941	September 1963	Nutt's Corner Circuit	[22]
RAF Omagh	1918	1930s	Farmland	[23]
RAF Sandy Bay	1930s	1940s	Marina	[24]
RAF St Angelo No. 18 SLG No. 106 Storage Sub Site	April 1941		Enniskillen/St Angelo Airport	[25]
RAF Sydenham	1933		George Best Belfast City Airport	[26]
RAF Toome	January 1943	1969	Creagh Industrial Park	[27]

Former Royal Air Force airfields in the Republic

Name	Opened	Closed	Current use	Notes
Gormanston	August 1918	April 1920		[28]
Tallaght	August 1918	April 1920		[29]
Baldonnel	May 1918	February 1922		[30]
The Curragh	December 1917	February 1920		[31]
Fermoy	May 1918	February 1922		[32]
Limerick				Detachment of No. 2 Squadron during 1913[33]
Rathbone Camp (Birr)	September 1913	September 1913		[34]
Oranmore	May 1918	February 1922		[35]
Castlebar	May 1918	May 1921		[36]

See also

• Irish History
• List of wars in Ireland
• List of conflicts in Ireland
• Irish Defence Forces
• Irish regiments of the British Army
• List of Irish uprisings
• Irish military diaspora