This is a list of battalions of the Connaught Rangers, which existed as an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922.
Original composition When the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers), and 94th Regiment of Foot amalgamated to form The Connaught Rangers in 1881 under the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British Armed Forces, four pre-existent militia regiments of Connaught were integrated into the structure of the regiment. The only change to the regiment's structure during the period of 1881-1908 occurred in 1889, when the 6th (Militia) Battalion was absorbed by the 3rd (Militia) Battalions.
BattalionFormedFormerlyRegular1st179388th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers)2nd182394th Regiment of FootMilitia3rd (Militia)1793South Mayo Rifles Regiment of Militia4th (Militia)1793Wilkins p.37Galway Regiment of Militia5th (Militia)Roscommon Regiment of Militia6th (Militia)North Mayo Fusiliers Regiment of Militia
Reorganisation
In 1908, the militia battalions transferred to the "Special Reserve", alongside this, the 3rd (Militia) Battalion disbanded, and the 2 Battalions were renumbered sequentially.
BattalionFormerly3rd (Reserve)4th (Militia) Battalion4th (Extra Reserve)5th (Militia) Battalion
First World War The Connaughts fielded 6 battalions and lost approximately 2,500 officers and other ranks during the course of the war. Two battalions of the regiment were formed as part of Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener's appeal for an initial 100,000 men volunteers in 1914.
BattalionFormedServedFateRegular1st1793Western Front, Mesopotamia, Palestine2nd1823Western FrontAmalgamated with 1st Battalion, in November 1914. Special Reserve3rd (Reserve)1793Ireland, Britain4th (Extra Reserve)Ireland, BritainAbsorbed by 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, in May 1918Territorial Force5th (Service)Dublin, August 1914Gallipoli, Salonika, Palestine, Western FrontSee Disbandment6th (Service)Kilworth, September 1914Western FrontDisbanded, in August 1918
Disbandment In 1919, the 2nd Battalion was reformed, by redesignation of the 5th (Service) Battalion. And in 1921, the Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation.
Following the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the regiment disbanded, along with the other five regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in the counties of the new state.Murphy, p. 30 quote: "Following the treaty that established the independent Irish Free State in 1922, it was decided to disband the regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in southern Ireland: The Royal Irish Regiment; The Connaught Rangers; The Prince of Wales' Leinster Regiment; The Royal Munster Fusiliers; The Royal Dublin Fusiliers; The South Irish Horse"
References
Bibliography David C. A. Wilkins, Defence Prepared: The Galway Militia from 1793, Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, Vol. 50 (1998), pp. 37–48