# Southern Irishmen in Brit Army post-1922 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 2, 2008, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666 "2008-04-02T13:05:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/41 "2008-04-04T09:01:54Z")
How is service viewed officially? Is active recruitment allowed? Or is recruitment banned and Irish gov discourages application the the British Forces, since very obviously the most capable personnel would go to the UK for reasons mentioned above. This could have a bad affect on Irish Defence Forces recruitment. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/42 "2008-04-04T14:26:32Z")
[QUOTE=AK84] How is service viewed officially? Is active recruitment allowed? Or is recruitment banned and Irish gov discourages application the the British Forces, since very obviously the most capable personnel would go to the UK for reasons mentioned above. This could have a bad affect on Irish Defence Forces recruitment. [/QUOTE] Previous posters have mentioned that the Irish Defence Forces offer fewer opportunities–and posts often go to relatives of those who serve. And others have pointed out that Irish enlistment in the UK’s army is lower than in the past. Ireland’s most famous export is no longer people. Irish interested in a military career could just check out [competing](http://www.army.mod.uk/irishguards/index.htm) [websites](http://www.military.ie/)! ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/43 "2008-04-04T14:34:40Z")
[QUOTE=AK84] How is service viewed officially? Is active recruitment allowed? [/QUOTE] Service is allowed, active recruiting is not. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/44 "2008-04-04T15:02:20Z")
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke] Previous posters have mentioned that the Irish Defence Forces offer fewer opportunities–and posts often go to relatives of those who serve. And others have pointed out that Irish enlistment in the UK’s army is lower than in the past. Ireland’s most famous export is no longer people. Irish interested in a military career could just check out [competing](http://www.army.mod.uk/irishguards/index.htm) [websites](http://www.military.ie/)! [/QUOTE] The Royal Irish Regiment should also get a mention [http://www.army.mod.uk/royalirish/recruiting\_join\_us/index.htm](http://www.army.mod.uk/royalirish/recruiting_join_us/index.htm) ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/45 "2008-04-04T16:36:37Z")
**Struan** - One of my husband’s friends is all of these things: A Corkonian A Catholic A former Royal Marine A former soldier in the French Foreign Legion. He is just one of those people who was born to be a soldier, and so he took the best opportunities (as he sees it) in his field. Exactly _who_ he was fighting for was something of a secondary concern to him. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/46 "2008-04-04T16:54:25Z")
Careful, you called a marine a soldier! ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/47 "2008-04-04T17:17:23Z")
[QUOTE=Lochdale] With all due respect, please do not refer to Irish people as “paddy’s”. it’s insulting no matter how you meant it. ). [/QUOTE] Actually I nearly emigrated to Eire,I was very much in love with an Irish girl and I have a good many Irish friends. I have visited the Republic for extended visits many,many times. So I am more then familiar with its people and its customs and I love them both. My many friends there refer to themselves as Paddies,when speaking of Irish people in the third person they call them Paddy. They call St.Patricks day Paddies day. They are very,very proud of being Paddies. In conversation with them as an AngloScot I refer to Irish blokes that they dont personally know who I have met in England as Paddies and they are not outraged or offended . I suspect that you must have been away from Ireland for many,many years to be offended by the term. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/48 "2008-04-04T18:16:42Z")
Yeah, he’ll forgive me. FYI he’s now a game programmer, first person shooters especially…no surprise there. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/49 "2008-04-05T09:45:55Z")
I am, for once, agreeing with you **L4L**. However, it’s still not called Eire. ---
**Author:** ![corsair1d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71c47a/32.png) [@corsair1d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corsair1d)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/50 "2008-04-05T11:42:45Z")
L4L is dead right. It’s Paddy this and Paddy that nowdays. I think it may be because we have so many foreigners working here. My friend commented the other day when we were in a fast food place. ‘There isn’t a single Paddy working here’. But ooh no, you can’t say Eire, even though it’s the official title of the country in Irish. LOL ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/51 "2008-04-05T11:44:28Z")
Well to fair it says Eire on our coins. It’s just British people who aren’t allowed call it Eire. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/52 "2008-04-05T16:38:11Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] I am, for once, agreeing with you **L4L**. However, it’s still not called Eire. [/QUOTE] I’m sorry but it just feels so naughty living on the edge and outraging everybody by calling the R.O.I. Eire! Gosh I feel so excited ULSTER ULSTER ULSTER. Sorry about that,I’ll take my medication now. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/53 "2008-04-05T17:47:41Z")
Just don’t start saying “Protestant Ulster” or go Orangemen, and you should be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/54 "2008-04-05T18:20:42Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] So you _are_ changing your mind? I thought the original assertion was that the use of ‘Paddy’ was “Insulting no matter how you meant it”. Either have the guts to admit you got that one at least slightly wrong, or shut up. GorillaMan, an Englishman in Ireland, proudly Irish in England. A true plastic paddy. [/QUOTE] Again, you have singularly failed to read my posts. I admitted that I was wrong a number of posts up. The term paddy has often been used as a pejorative. As I read it in the original post I saw it as a pejorative (unintentionally by the poster). I rarely hear that term used by Irish people but regardless, I hear it even less from my English friends most of whom know that it can be taken or used the wrong way. So, will you now have the guts to admit that you didn’t read my subsequent posts? ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/55 "2008-04-05T18:24:07Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] **Lochdale** , have you been out of Dublin a long time? The situation has changed a lot, and to call someone a “paddy” is scarcely worse than calling someone else a “Brit”. [/QUOTE] I spend about 4 months a year in Dublin. 2 months in London and the remainder in Chicago. I left Ireland in 1996 but I am in near constant contact with Ireland. Being honest, I would take offense to someone calling me a paddy unless it was clearly in jest. Mind you, I’ve not been to many rugby matches so perhaps it’s common at those games as a form of jest amongst the various fans. However, as a rabid Dublin fan I can say that it if opposing fans called us paddys then offense would be taken. Put another way, it just wouldn’t fly on the Hill. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/56 "2008-04-05T18:34:23Z")
[QUOTE=Lochdale] Again, you have singularly failed to read my posts. I admitted that I was wrong a number of posts up. The term paddy has often been used as a pejorative. As I read it in the original post I saw it as a pejorative (unintentionally by the poster). I rarely hear that term used by Irish people but regardless, I hear it even less from my English friends most of whom know that it can be taken or used the wrong way. [/quote] Oh for goodness sake. Nobody is claiming that the word is never used as an insult. You just seem determined to continue telling us that **Lust4Life** was wrong to use it, despite numerous people telling you that such a context really isn’t a problem to most Irish people. And, it seems, simply not being willing to acknowledge the fact that the term is not shunned in such a way nowadays in either Ireland or England. > [@](#): > > So, will you now have the guts to admit that you didn’t read my subsequent posts? Riiiiight. I didn’t read them, yet somehow managed to quote them and respond to them? ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/57 "2008-04-05T19:29:13Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Riiiiight. I didn’t read them, yet somehow managed to quote them and respond to them? [/QUOTE] Then perhaps you didn’t comprehend them. Either way, the goal of this site is to combat ignorance so perhaps this will be a good lesson for you. > [@](#): > > Oh for goodness sake. Nobody is claiming that the word is never used as an insult. You just seem determined to continue telling us that **Lust4Life** was wrong to use it, despite numerous people telling you that such a context really isn’t a problem to most Irish people. And, it seems, simply not being willing to acknowledge the fact that the term is not shunned in such a way nowadays in either Ireland or England. Actually that isn’t the case it can still be used pejoratively and indeed it still is. I still think Lust4life was wrong and I don’t doubt that, given the context of his/her post, that other Irish people would agree with me. So the term still is shunned when used in a certain manner. It isn’t the case of my “being away from Ireland”. Indeed, I am anything but. It’s just a of a word that can still be used pejoratively. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/58 "2008-04-05T20:03:57Z")
[QUOTE=Lochdale] Actually that isn’t the case it can still be used pejoratively and indeed it still is. I still think Lust4life was wrong and I don’t doubt that, given the context of his/her post, that other Irish people would agree with me. [/QUOTE] You say this in spite of Irish people already having said otherwise? (Do I count as Irish for this, BTW?) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/59 "2008-04-06T04:07:45Z")
Context is everything. There are situations where I would find it offensive but most of the time it would be fine. I prefer hearing it from other paddies though, YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666/60 "2008-04-06T04:25:05Z")
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke] Ireland’s most famous export is no longer people. [/QUOTE] Indeed. Irish ex-pats fighting in other countries’ armies is a long tradition, c.f. [the Flight of the Wild Geese](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_of_the_Wild_Geese). That they are no longer doing so in past numbers is a recent development when you’re looking back to 1580. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-irishmen-in-brit-army-post-1922/443666.md?page=4)