Born in the Civil War of 1922-23, the army of the Republic of Ireland occupied a sensitive place in the national culture for many years. In World War II, it faced the challenge of maintaining Ireland's integrity as a neutral. Post-war, it found a new role in 1960, providing troops for the United Nations intervention in the war-torn Congo; and since then has supported UN missions in the Middle East and elsewhere. More recently the border with troubled Ulster has obliged the Republic to invest in reform and modernisation. Ireland's freedom to seek examples and equipment worldwide has created an interesting progression of uniforms, illustrated in this study of Ireland's forces over 80 years.
