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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=Connaught Rangers (88th Foot & 94th Foot)
|image= Connaught Rangers Cap Badge.jpg
|caption= Connaught Rangers Cap Badge
|dates=1881–1922
|country={{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] 
|branch={{army|United Kingdom}}
|type=[[Line infantry]]
|role=[[Infantry]]
|size= 2 Regular Battalions<br>
2–4 [[Militia (United Kingdom)|Militia]] and [[Militia (United Kingdom)#The Special Reserve|Special Reserve]] Battalions<br>
Up to 2 Hostilities-only Battalions
|current_commander=
|garrison=RHQ – [[Renmore Barracks]], [[Galway]]
|ceremonial_chief=
|ceremonial_chief_label= Colonel of the Regiment
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|nickname= ''The Devil's Own''
|abbreviation=
|motto= ''[[Quis Separabit]]'' (Who will separate us) ([[Latin]])
|colours=
|identification_symbol_2=
|identification_symbol_2_label=
|identification_symbol=
|identification_symbol_label=
|march= Quick: [[Brian Boru#Music|Brian Boru March]]
|mascot=
|battles= Egypt 1801; India; South America; The Peninsula; The Crimea; Indian Mutiny; South Africa 1877–1882; Egypt 1884–86; South Africa 1899–1902;<br />The Great War – France & Flanders; Mesopotamia; Macedonia; [[Gallipoli]]; Bulgaria
|notable_commanders=
|anniversaries=
}}
The '''Connaught Rangers''' ("The Devil's Own") was an [[Ireland|Irish]] [[line infantry]] [[regiment]] of the [[British Army]] formed by the amalgamation of the [[88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers)]] (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the [[94th Regiment of Foot]] (which formed the ''2nd Battalion'') in July 1881. Between the time of its formation and [[Irish Free State|Irish independence]], it was one of eight [[Irish military diaspora|Irish regiment]]s raised largely in [[Ireland]]. Its home depot was in [[Galway]].<ref name=harris216>Harris, Appendix II, pp. 216–217: Table listing the eight Irish Regiments of the British Army July 1914, their Depots, Reserve Bns., and local Militia.: [[Royal Irish Regiment (1684-1922)|Royal Irish Regiment]] Depot [[Clonmel]], [[Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers]] Depot [[Omagh]], [[Royal Ulster Rifles|Royal Irish Rifles]] Depot [[Belfast]], [[Royal Irish Fusiliers|Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's)]] Depot [[Armagh]], Connaught Rangers Depot [[Galway City|Galway]], [[Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment|Leinster Regiment]] Depot [[Birr, County Offaly|Birr]], [[Royal Munster Fusiliers]] Depot [[Tralee]], [[Royal Dublin Fusiliers]] Depot [[Naas]].</ref> It was disbanded following the establishment of the independent [[Irish Free State]] in 1922, along with the other five regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in the counties of the new state.<ref name=murphy>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]]"</ref>

==History==

===Early history===
The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of the [[88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers)]] (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the [[94th Regiment of Foot]] (which formed the ''2nd Battalion'') in July 1881. The amalgamation of the two regiments into one with the title '''The Connaught Rangers''', was part of the [[Government of the United Kingdom|United Kingdom government]]'s reorganisation of the [[British Army]] under the [[Childers Reforms]], a continuation of the [[Cardwell Reforms]] implemented in 1879.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=24992|pages=3300–3301|date=1 July 1881}}</ref>

[[File:Richard Simkin03.jpg|thumb|upright|"The Connaught Rangers" by [[Richard Simkin]] (1840–1926)]]
It was one of eight [[Irish military diaspora#'Irish' named units of the British Army|Irish regiments]] raised largely in [[Ireland]], with its home depot at [[Renmore Barracks]] in [[Galway City|Galway]].<ref name=harris216/> The regiment recruited mainly in the [[Provinces of Ireland|province]] of [[Connacht]]. Militarily, the whole of Ireland was administered as a separate command within the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] with Command Headquarters at Parkgate ([[Phoenix Park]]) in [[Dublin]], directly under the [[War Office]] in London.<ref>Harris, pp. 2–3</ref>

The 88th were based in [[Bengal]], [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]], when they were amalgamated into the new regiment.<ref name=nam>{{cite web|url=http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/connaught-rangers|title=Connaught Rangers|publisher=National Army Museum|access-date=16 July 2016}}</ref> The 94th were based in South Africa at the time of amalgamation; as the 2nd Battalion, it returned to Ireland the following year and sent a small detachment on the [[Nile Expedition]] in 1884 as Camel Mounted Infantry.<ref name=nam/> The 2nd Battalion deployed to the [[Sudan]] in 1896 for the [[Dongola|Dongola Expeditionary Force]] under the command of [[Herbert Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]] as part of the [[Mahdist Sudan|reconquest of the Sudan]] before moving to [[India]] in 1897.<ref name=nam/>

===Second Boer War===
The 1st Battalion deployed to South Africa as part of 5th (Irish) Brigade, commanded by Major-General Fitzroy Hart, and saw action at the [[Battle of Colenso]] in December 1899, part of the attempt to relieve the town of [[Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal|Ladysmith]], besieged by [[Boer]] forces. The brigade suffered heavily during their participation in the battle, the Boers inflicting heavy casualties: the regiment had 24 men killed and 105 officers and men wounded.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.angloboerwar.com/unit-information/imperial-units/544-connaught-rangers|title=Connaught Rangers|publisher=Anglo-Boer War|access-date=16 July 2016}}</ref> The Rangers fought at [[Battle of Spion Kop|Spion Kop]] in January 1900 and the [[Relief of Ladysmith|Tugela Heights]] in February 1900 during further attempts by General [[Redvers Buller|Sir Redvers Buller]] to relieve the besieged town of Ladysmith. In late February the siege of Ladysmith finally came to an end after it was relieved by British forces.<ref>Churchill, p. 208-10</ref> The battalion stayed in South Africa after the end of the war (June 1902), leaving Cape Town for Southampton on the SS ''Staffordshire'' in January 1903.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Troops returning for South Africa|date=7 February 1903 |page=8 |issue=36998}}</ref> After a brief stay in [[Mullingar]], they returned to India later in 1903.<ref name=nam/>

In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the [[Territorial Force]] and the latter the [[Special Reserve (militia)|Special Reserve]];<ref>{{cite web|url= https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1908/mar/31/territorial-and-reserve-forces-act-1907|title=Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=31 March 1908|access-date=20 June 2017}}</ref> the regiment now had two Reserve but no Territorial battalions.<ref>These were the 3rd Battalion (Special Reserve) and the 4th Battalion (Special Reserve).</ref><ref name=regiments/>

===First World War===
{{see also|List of battalions of the Connaught Rangers#First World War}}
[[File:British infantry Morval 25 September 1916.jpg|thumb|left|Battle of the Somme. Photo by [[Ernest Brooks (photographer)|Ernest Brooks]]]]
[[File:Andersons badge.jpg|alt=ALB ANDERSON'S BADGE|thumb|Connaught Rangers Badge 1914]]
[[File:Connaught Rangers badge of TC Slowey.jpg|thumb|Connaught Rangers Association badge, 1920]]
[[File:Andersons tunic.jpeg|alt=Connaught Rangers|thumb|upright|A.L.B. Anderson's Tunic]]

====Regular Army====
The 1st Battalion, which was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel [[Hurdis Ravenshaw]] and had been stationed in [[Firozpur|Ferozepore]], India, landed as part of the 7th (Ferozepore) Brigade in the [[3rd (Lahore) Division]] at [[Marseille]] in September 1914 for service on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].<ref name=trail>{{cite web|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/connaught.htm|title=Connaught Rangers|publisher=The Long, Long Trail|access-date=16 July 2016}}</ref>

The 2nd Battalion landed at [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]] as part of the [[5th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|5th Brigade]] in the [[2nd Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|2nd Division]] with the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]] in August 1914 for service on the Western Front.<ref name=trail/> Its marching song ''[[It's a Long Way to Tipperary]]'' became famous.<ref name=nam/> By October, the battalion was involved in the fighting around [[First Battle of Ypres|Ypres]]. On one occasion Private Grogan rushed seven Germans who had occupied a section of trench. He killed all of them. It cost him a cut forehead and four teeth.<ref>Reagan, p. 179</ref>

Following severe losses in the battles of 1914, the 2nd Battalion was disbanded, with survivors transferring into the 1st Battalion. In turn, the 1st Battalion was redeployed to the Middle East in 1916, where it fought primarily in modern-day Iraq as part of the British [[III Corps (India)|Tigris Corps]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Phelan|first= Mark|title= Beyond the Liffey and the Somme: Irish soldiers at the Tigris River, 1916|date= 29 February 2016|publisher=History Ireland, 24:2 (March/April 2016)|url= http://www.historyireland.com/volume-24/beyond-the-liffey-and-the-somme-irish-soldiers-at-the-tigris-river-1916/|access-date=17 January 2017}}</ref>

The 3rd (Reserve) Battalion was based in [[Galway]] upon the declaration of war and would remain in Ireland until November 1917 when it moved to England.<ref name=trail/> The 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion had been based in [[Boyle, County Roscommon|Boyle]] in August and would remain there until November 1917 when it relocated to [[Scotland]]: it was absorbed into the 3rd Battalion in May 1918.<ref name=trail/>

====New Armies====
The 5th (Service) Battalion, which was formed in [[Dublin]] in August 1914, landed at [[ANZAC Cove|Anzac Cove]] in [[Gallipoli]] in August 1915 as part of the [[29th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|29th Brigade]] in the [[10th (Irish) Division]] but moved to [[Thessaloniki|Salonika]] in September 1915 for service on the [[Macedonian front]] and then transferred to [[Egypt]] for service in [[Occupied Enemy Territory Administration|Palestine]] in September 1917 before landing at Marseilles in June 1918 for service on the Western Front.<ref name=trail/>

The 6th (Service) Battalion, which was formed in [[County Cork]] in September 1914 though largely recruited in west [[Belfast]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/forgotten-rangers-suffered-horrific-losses-in-war-28453331.html|title=Forgotten Rangers suffered horrific losses in the War|work=Belfast Telegraph|access-date=24 January 2020}}</ref><ref>''The 6th Connaught Rangers: Belfast Nationalists and the Great War'', Ulster Historical Foundation</ref> landed at [[Le Havre]] as part of the [[47th Brigade (United Kingdom)|47th Brigade]] in the [[16th (Irish) Division]] in December 1915 for service on the Western Front.<ref name=trail/> In just over a week's fighting in the [[Battle of the Somme]] in September 1916, the 6th Battalion lost 23 officers and 407 other ranks.<ref>Denman, p. 101</ref> On 21 March 1918, the same Battalion was "practically annihilated" during the [[German spring offensive]] breakthrough. In one week the battalion lost "22 officers and 618 other ranks".<ref>Jourdain, Vol. 3, p. 273</ref> As a result of these heavy losses, the survivors were transferred into the 2nd Battalion, the [[Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians)|Leinster Regiment]].<ref name=trail/>

=== 1916 Easter Rising ===
{{Main|Easter Rising}}

In April 1916, during World War 1, in what became known as the [[Easter Rising]], [[Irish republicanism|Irish Republican]] forces in Ireland launched an armed insurrection against the authority of the government of the [[United Kingdom]], with the [[Proclamation of the Irish Republic|declared aim]] of establishing an [[Irish Republic]] wholly independent in its sovereign governance from the United Kingdom. In response, the Connaught Rangers and other British Army units were deployed to fight against the paramilitary forces of the "[[Irish Volunteers]]". None of the Connaught Rangers were killed in action but one was wounded.<ref>{{cite book  |title=Sinn Féin Rebellion Handbook |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/30860794/Sinn-Fein-Rebellion-Hand-Book|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112101128/http://www.scribd.com/doc/30860794/Sinn-Fein-Rebellion-Hand-Book  |url-status=dead  |archive-date=12 November 2013    |access-date=16 November 2010 |year= 1917|publisher=Irish Weekly Times}}</ref>

A 584-man strong column from the 3rd Battalion Connaught Rangers, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel A J Digan DSO, marched on [[Enniscorthy]] to fight the rebels who had taken over the town, however on arrival decided not to attack the insurrectionists' positions within the town to avoid turning Enniscorthy into a battlefield.<ref>Boyle, pp. 127–152</ref> In the days after the insurrection began the Connaughts patrolled the countryside seeking contact with any of those war parties that cared to show themselves, in the process capturing hundreds of prisoners of war and seizing their weapons stocks.<ref name="auto">3rd Battalion, The Connaught Rangers War Diary for April/May 1916</ref> A 250 strong force of the Connaughts, under the command of Major H.M. Hutchinson, marched to [[Ferns, County Wexford|Ferns]] on 4 May 1916, and then on to [[Gorey]] the next day.<ref name=martin>Martin, p. 208</ref> A party of 31 Connaught Rangers led by Lieutenant L.C. Badham searched houses in [[Kinsale]] on 4 May 1916, and the next day captured a large number of rebels and their weapons.<ref name=mccarthy>McCarthy, pp. 25-101</ref> The Connaught Rangers' Column searched houses in [[New Ross]] on 9 May 1916 and then at [[Waterford]] the next day.<ref name=mccarthy/> The Connaught Rangers Column reached [[Clonmel]] on 16 May 1916, searching further residences in the town and capturing another large number of rebels and their weapon-stocks.<ref name=martin/>

Another Column of Connaught Rangers, 422 men strong, led by Major O.F. Lloyd, searched houses in [[Bandon, County Cork|Bandon]] from 6 to 11 May 1916, capturing further numbers of rebels and weapons. The Column proceeded on to [[Clonakilty]] on 11 May and searched the district there also, capturing more rebels and their equipment. This Column marched to [[Skibbereen]] on 16 May, and entering the town and fanning out through the surrounding area, succeeded in rounding up yet more rebels with their arms. A number of Connaught Rangers who were in Dublin at the time of the Easter Rising had volunteered for temporary secondment to other units of the British Army such as the [[Royal Irish Fusiliers]] and [[Royal Dublin Fusiliers]] specifically to take part in the capital city's defence against the rising.<ref name="auto"/> Sergeant John Joseph Barror of the Connaught Rangers killed two rebels in the fighting in Dublin.<ref name="auto"/>

===Postwar===
Following demobilization the Connaught Rangers was reduced to its peacetime establishment of two regular battalions. With the outbreak of the [[Irish War of Independence]] in 1919 both were stationed outside Ireland (the 2nd Battalion in Dover and the 1st in India).<ref>Alan Shepperd, page32, "The Connaught Rangers", SBN 85045-083-7, Osprey Publishing Ltd 1972</ref> This was part of a general policy aimed at minimizing the pressures of divided loyalties, by relocating serving Irish regiments during "[[the troubles]]".<ref>Murphy, p. 29</ref>

===Mutiny in India, 1920{{anchor|Mutiny}}<!-- [[Connaught Rangers Mutiny]] redirects here-->===
[[File:Mutiny India 1920.JPG|thumb|upright|Connaught Rangers mutineers' memorial, [[Glasnevin Cemetery]], [[Dublin]]]]
On 28 June 1920, four men from C Company of the 1st Battalion, based at Wellington Barracks, [[Jalandhar]] in the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], protested against [[Irish War of Independence#Martial law|martial law in Ireland]] by refusing to obey orders. One of them, Joe Hawes, had been on leave in Clare in October 1919 and had seen a [[hurling]] match prevented from happening by British forces with bayonets drawn.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://independentleft.ie/connaught-rangers-mutiny-1920/|title=The Connaught Rangers' Mutiny of 1920|date=11 March 2020 |access-date=17 June 2020}}</ref> Poor accommodation conditions in the Wellington Barracks may have provided an additional cause of the dispute.<ref>Murphy, p. 30</ref>

The protestors were soon joined by other Rangers, including several English soldiers, such as John Miranda from [[Liverpool]] and Sergeant Woods.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://independentleft.ie/connaught-rangers-mutiny-1920/|title=The Connaught Rangers' Mutiny of 1920|date=11 March 2020 |access-date=17 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1481689|title=Casualty Details|first=Reading Room|last=Manchester|access-date=16 July 2016}}</ref> By the following morning, when a rebel muster took place, over 300 soldiers were involved in the mutiny.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://independentleft.ie/connaught-rangers-mutiny-1920/|title=The Connaught Rangers' Mutiny of 1920|date=11 March 2020 |access-date=17 June 2020}}</ref>

On 30 June 1920, two mutineers from the Jalandhar barracks (Frank Geraghty and Patrick Kelly) travelled to Solon barracks where C Company were stationed and, despite arrest, helped spark a mutiny there, led by [[James Daly (mutineer)|Private James Daly]], whose brother William also took part in the protest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://independentleft.ie/connaught-rangers-mutiny-1920/|title=The Connaught Rangers' Mutiny of 1920|date=11 March 2020 |access-date=17 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/connaught-rangers-mutiny-a-far-away-conflict-brought-home-in-new-archive-1.1657841|title=Connaught Rangers mutiny: a far-away conflict brought home in a new archive|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=17 January 2014|access-date=5 March 2017}}</ref>

Initially, the protests were peaceful with the men involved donning green, white and orange rosettes and singing Irish nationalist songs. At Solon, however, on the evening of 1 July a party of about thirty men led by James Daly, carrying bayonets, attempted to seize their company's rifles,<ref name="Silvestri2010">{{cite journal |last1=Silvestri |first1=Michael |title=Commemoration: Nationalism, empire and memory: the Connaught Rangers mutiny, June 1920 |journal=History Ireland |date=July–August 2010 |volume=18 |issue=4 |url=https://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/commemorationnationalism-empire-and-memory-the-connaught-rangers-mutiny-june-1920/ |access-date=9 August 2018}}</ref> stored in the [[Arsenal|armoury]]. The troops guarding the magazine opened fire and two men were killed: Pte. Smythe who was with Daly's party, and Pte. Peter Sears (who had not been involved in the attack on the magazine but was returning to his billet when hit by a stray bullet).<ref>Pollock, p. 101</ref> Within days, both garrisons were occupied by other British troops. Daly and his followers surrendered and were arrested. Eighty-eight mutineers were [[court-martial]]ed: seventy-seven were sentenced to imprisonment and ten were acquitted.<ref name=nam/> James Daly was shot by a [[Execution by firing squad|firing squad]] at [[Dagshai]] Prison on 2 November 1920. He was the last member of the British Armed Forces to be executed for mutiny.<ref name=nam/> The bodies of Ptes. Sears and Smythe were buried at Solan, while Daly and Miranda (who later died in prison) were buried at a cemetery in Dagshai. Among those who received a sentence of life in prison was Martin Conlon (a half brother to the eight brothers from Sligo town who fought in the First World War, in which four were killed in action).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1678.pdf#page=16|title=Statement by William T. O'Keeffe|publisher=Bureau of Military History|access-date=16 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230750/http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1678.pdf#page=16|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1923, following Irish Independence, the imprisoned mutineers were released and returned to Ireland.<ref name="Silvestri2010"/> In 1936, the Free State's [[Government of the 8th Dáil|Fianna Fáil government]] awarded pensions to those whose British Army pensions were forfeited by conviction for their part in the mutiny.<ref>{{cite web |title=Connaught Rangers (Pensions) Act, 1936 |url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1936/act/37/enacted/en/index.html |website=electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB) |publisher=Attorney General of Ireland |access-date=9 August 2018 |language=en |date=8 August 1936}}; {{cite web |title=Connaught Rangers (Pensions) Bill, 1936—Second Stage. |url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1936-04-29/12/ |website=Dáil Éireann debates |publisher=Oireachtas |access-date=9 August 2018 |language=en-ie, ga |date=29 April 1936}}</ref> The bodies of Ptes. Sears, Smythe, and Daly were repatriated from India to Ireland for reburial in 1970.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bartlett |first1=Thomas |title=The Connaught Rangers Mutiny India, July 1920 |journal=History Ireland |date=Spring 1998 |volume=6 |issue=1 |url=https://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/the-connaught-rangers-mutiny-india-july-1920/ |access-date=9 August 2018}}</ref>

===Disbandment===
Due to substantial defence cuts and the establishment of the [[Irish Free State]] in 1922, it was decided that the six former [[Southern Ireland (1921–22)|Southern Ireland]] regiments would be disbanded,<ref name=murphy/><ref>Army Order 78 of 11 March 1922</ref> including the Connaught Rangers. On 12 June, five regimental [[Military colours, standards and guidons#Colours|colours]] were laid up in a ceremony at St George's Hall, [[Windsor Castle]] in the presence of [[George V|HM King George V]].<ref>Harris, p. 209</ref> The six regiments were then all disbanded on 31 July 1922.<ref name=regiments>{{cite web|url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/088Connt.htm |title=Connaught Rangers |publisher=Regiments.org |access-date=16 July 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060103215658/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/088Connt.htm |archive-date=3 January 2006}}</ref> With the simultaneous outbreak of the [[Irish Civil War]] conflict some thousands of their ex-servicemen and officers contributed to expanding the Free State government's newly formed [[National Army (Ireland)|National Army]]. They brought considerable combat experience with them contributing significantly to the success of the Free State’s cause, and by May 1923 comprised 50 per cent of its 53,000 soldiers and 20 per cent of its officers.<ref>Cottrell, p. 23</ref>

==Memorials==
[[File:Connaught Rangers banner.jpg|thumb|upright|Banner commemorating the regiment in [[St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church]], Galway.]]
[[File:Connaught Rangers tombstone, Kells.jpg|thumb|upright|Gravestone of Private F. Brady, Connaught Rangers, in [[Kells, County Meath]].]]
In 1966 a stained glass memorial window to the Connaught Rangers was included in the new [[Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, Galway|Galway Cathedral]], which renders honour to a regiment so long associated with that part of Ireland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/86|title=For King and Country|publisher=Galway Advertiser|access-date=16 July 2016}}</ref>

There are various memorials to the regiment and its soldiers in [[St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church]] in Galway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishwarmemorials.ie/Place-Detail?siteId=32 |title=War Memorial in Galway, St. Nicholas' Church, Galway |publisher=Irishwarmemorials.ie |date=2014-06-12 |access-date=2017-10-18}}</ref>

==Battle honours==
The regiment was awarded the following [[Battle honours of the British and Imperial Armies|battle honours]]:<ref name=regiments/>
*''From the 88th Regiment of Foot'': Egypt, Talavera, Busaco, Fuentes d'Onoro, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula, Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Central India
*''From the 94th Regiment of Foot'': Seringapatam, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula, Pyrenees, South Africa 1877-78-79
*''Second Boer War'': Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899–1902
*''The Great War'':  Mons, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Messines 1914 '17, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1914 '15 '17, Langemarck 1914 '17, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, Festubert 1914, Givenchy 1914, Neuve Chapelle, St. Julien, Aubers, Somme, 1916 '18, Guillemont, Ginchy, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Hindenburg Line, Cambrai 1918, Selle, France and Flanders 1914–1918, Kosturino, Struma, Macedonia 1915–17, Suvla, Sari Bair, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Gaza, Jerusalem, Tell 'Asur, Megiddo, Sharon, Palestine 1917–18, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1916–18
[[File:Danaher Dupl.VC.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The reverse of Sgt. Danaher's duplicate VC]]

==Victoria Crosses==
*Private [[Thomas Hughes (VC)|Thomas Hughes]] -	First World War, 3 September 1916
*Lance Corporal [[James Murray (VC)|James Murray]] - First Boer War, 16 January 1881
*Sergeant [[John Danaher (VC)|John Danaher]] - First Boer War, 12 February 1881 (the unit, according to the naming engraved on his duplicate VC see picture; private collection)

==Regimental Colonels==
Colonels of the regiment were:<ref name= regiments/>
*1881–?1889: (1st Battalion): Gen. [[William Irwin (British Army officer)|William Irwin]] ''(ex [[88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers)|88th Foot]])''
*1881–1886: (2nd Battalion): Gen. Sir [[John Thornton Grant]], KCB ''(ex [[94th Foot]])''
*1889–1900: Gen. [[Joseph Edwin Thackwell]], CB
*1900–1912: Lt-Gen. Sir [[Edward Hopton]], KCB<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27177|date=27 March 1900|page=2040}}</ref>
*1912–1922: Maj-Gen. William Liston Dalrymple, CB
*''1922: Regiment disbanded''

==Great War Memorials==
* [[Irish National War Memorial Gardens]], Dublin.
* [[Island of Ireland Peace Park]] Messines, Belgium.
* [[Ulster Tower|Ulster Tower Memorial]] Thiepval, France.
* [[Menin Gate|Menin Gate Memorial]] Ypres, Belgium.

==Uniforms and insignia==
[[File:Listed for the Connaught Rangers.png|thumb|''[[Listed for the Connaught Rangers]]'' by [[Elizabeth Thompson]], 1878]]
From 1881 to 1914 the Connaught Rangers wore the standard scarlet and blue full dress of British infantry (see illustration above) with green [[facings]]. The green collars and cuffs were intended to be a national distinction for infantry regiments recruited in Ireland but the Connaught Rangers was the only one of these not to have a "Royal" title and accordingly the distinction of dark blue facings.<ref>{{cite book|first=W.Y. |last=Carman|page=152|title=British Military Uniforms From Contemporary Pictures|publisher=The Hamlyn publishing Group |year=1968}}</ref>

The regimental buttons had a harp and crown surrounded by a shamrock wreath. The harp and crown reappeared on cap and home service helmet badges, in silver on a green background.<ref>{{cite book|page=98|title=Dress Regulations for the Army 1900}}</ref>

== Nickname==
In the mid-19th century a tradition grew up that the 88th had been given the nickname 'Devil's Own' by Major General [[Thomas Picton]] during the [[Peninsular War]],  "as a compliment to their dauntless bravery in presence of the enemy, and their uniform irregularity in camp and quarters",<ref> The Naval & Military Gazette and Weekly Chronicle of the United Service October 8th 1853, p.652</ref> a tradition that was inherited by the Connaught Rangers when the 88th and 94th were joined to form the new regiment in 1881. However, there is no contemporary record of the 88th receiving this sobriquet, and subsequent regimental histories and memoirs make no reference either to the nickname or its origins. <ref> ''Historical Record of the Eighty-eighth Regiment, Or Connaught Rangers'', Richard Cannon 1837; ''Adventures with the Connaught Rangers'', William Grattan, Lieutenant, 1847, The Connaught Rangers. (The history of the regiment.) By Lieut.-Colonel H. F. N. Jourdain and Edward Fraser,1924.</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Royal Irish Rangers]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last=Boyle|first=John F. |title=The Irish Rebellion of 1916: a brief history of the revolt and its suppression|publisher=BiblioBazaar|year=2009|isbn=978-1290147095}}
*{{cite book|last=Churchill|first=W.S.|title=London to Ladysmith via Pretoria, London|url=https://archive.org/details/naturesmiracles00graygoog|publisher=Longmans, Green & Co.|year=1900|isbn=978-1557423825}}
*{{cite book|last=Cottrell|first= Peter|title=The Irish Civil War 1922–23|publisher= Osprey Publishing |year=2008|isbn=978-1-84603-270-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Denman|first=Terence|title=Ireland's unknown soldiers: the 16th (Irish) Division in the Great War, 1914–1918|publisher=Irish Academic Press|year=1992|isbn=978-0716525615}}
*{{cite book|last=Harris|first=Major Henry E. D.|title=The Irish Regiments in the First World War|publisher=Mercer Press Cork|year=1968|isbn=978-0853420729}}
*{{cite book|last=Jourdain|first=Lieutenant-Colonel H. F. N. CMG|title=The Connaught Rangers – 1st Battalion, Formerly 88th Foot|publisher=London, Royal United Service Institution, 1926 3-volume regimental history. Vol.1: 1st Battalion, 1793–1922; Vol.2: 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions, 1793–1922; Vol.3: 5th and 6th (Service) Battalions, 1914–18 }}
*{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Francis|title=Leaders and Men of the Easter Rising: Dublin 1916|url=https://archive.org/details/leadersmenofeast00mart|url-access=registration|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=1967|isbn=978-0801402906}}
*{{cite book|last=McCarthy|first=Mark|title=Ireland's 1916 Rising: Explorations of History-Making, Commemoration & Heritage in Modern Times|publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2012|isbn=978-1409436232}}
*{{cite book|last=Murphy|first=David|title=Irish Regiments in the World Wars|publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2007|isbn=978-1846030154}}
*{{cite book|last=Pollock|first=Sam|title=Mutiny for the Cause|year=1971 |publisher=Lee Cooper, London, 1969|isbn= 978-0722169315}}
*{{cite book|last=Reagan|first=Geoffrey|title=Military Anecdotes|publisher=Guinness Publishing |year=1992 |isbn=0-85112-519-0}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last=Atwal |first=Jyoti |title=India, Ireland and anti-Imperial struggle: remembering the Connaught Rangers Mutiny, 1920|publisher=Aakar Books Delhi|year=2021|isbn=978-9350027387}}
*{{cite book|last=Babington|first=Anthony|title=The Devil to Pay: The Mutiny of the Connaught Rangers|publisher=India|year=1920|isbn= 0-85052-327-3}}
*{{cite book|last=Grattan|first=William|title=Adventures With the Connaught Rangers 1809–1814|publisher=London: Greenhill Books |year=1989|isbn=978-1853675317}}
*{{cite book|last=Kilfeather|first=T. P.|title=The Connaught Rangers|publisher=Tralee: Anvil Books|year=1969|isbn=978-0900068089 }}
*{{cite book|last=Maxwell C.B.|first=General E. H.|title=With the Connaught Rangers in Quarters, Camp and on Leave|publisher=Hurst & Blackett, London|year= 1883}} ([https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73767 Project Gutenberg])

==External links==
{{Commons category|Connaught Rangers}}
* [http://www.connaughtrangers.co.uk Homepage of the Connaught Rangers 88th Foot and 94th Foot]
* [http://www.88thfoot.co.uk Homepage of the Connaught Rangers Re-Enactment Group]
* [http://unitedireland.tripod.com/id121.html The Connaught Rangers Song Lyrics, chords and video]
* [http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/Historical_Information/1916_Commemorations/Irish_Soldiers_in_the_First_World_War.html Department of the Taoiseach: Irish Soldiers in the First World War]

{{Great War in Ireland}}
{{British Infantry Regiments World War I}}

[[Category:Connaught Rangers| ]]
[[Category:Irish regiments of the British Army]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1922]]
[[Category:Ireland in World War I]]
[[Category:Rebellions in Asia]]
[[Category:Mutinies]]
[[Category:Regiments of the British Army in World War I]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1881]]
[[Category:Defunct Irish regiments of the British Army]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:1881 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1922 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British Army Rangers]]