• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Ireland - Reserve Defence Force (RDF) History

In June 1940, following the outbreak of World War II, the Volunteer Reserve that was officially established in 1929 was renamed the Local Security Force (LSF). The "Emergency Powers Order" gave official authority for the establishment of this force and was described in Article 54 of this Order as the "Temporary Special Police Force." This Force, incorporating a Defence Force and a Police Force with the role of securing Ireland’s 26 counties was created from a network of volunteers in every locality who carried out local security duties and reported any hostility to the Force’s controlling authority, An Garda Síochána.

The LSF, based in each Garda Síochána district, were broken into a number of service groups, including Intelligence & Organisation, Communications, Transport, Engineer, Supply, First Aid and a Combat Group. Within three months of its formation, the LSF’s strength had grown to 180,000, most of who had requested to serve with the Combat Group – as members of this group were armed and tasked with defending the main installations of each district.

By January 1941 the LSF’s Combat Group had grown beyond all expected proportions. To ease this problem and ensure that full training was afforded to all, the Combat Group was placed under the control of the Defence Forces and became known as the Local Defence Forces (LDF). Organised into Rifle Battalions and commanded by Army Officers, the roles of the new force became more military focussed.

In 1946 the LDF was reorganised again, under a new title, An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil (An FCÁ – the Local Defence Forces) An FCÁ integrated with the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF) in 1959. This move revitalised An FCÁ, as the Local Defence Force was restructured to mirror the PDF. Rifle Battalions were reformed as Infantry Battalions, their training and weapons were upgraded. From 1969 onwards FCÁ personnel supported the PDF by the provision of security duties in barracks and posts throughout the country.

In 1984, shortly after the 25th anniversary of integration, An FCÁ was de-integrated and re-established as an independent Reserve Force. The structure set in place at the time has continued the same and An FCÁ has continued with its normal training. FCÁ units were the most visible part of the Defence Forces in many localities throughout the country. Regularly carrying out ceremonial duties, Presidential Guards, and guards of honour, as well as participating in local and national St. Patrick’s Day Parades, FCÁ personnel made themselves available during local emergencies providing help to the needy and assistance to the PDF for security duties, military exercises and in support for major operations.

In 1996 a military board was established under Colonel Des Travers to look at the possibilities of restructuring the FCÁ and re-integrating the organisation into the PDF. Arising from the report of this board a Steering Group was set up consisting of members of the Department of Defence, PDF and FCÁ personnel, including Brigadier General Edmund Heskin, then General Officer Commanding the 2 Eastern Brigade, and Colonel Mick Dunne, then Director of Reserve Forces. The Steering Board’s final report was used as a basis for the recommendations contained in the Government’s White Paper on Defence 2000. The White Paper stated, “Ireland provides for its core defence requirements through the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF). The availability of supplementary forces, in the form of reserves, offers a cost effective means of achieving an overall strength target through a judicious combination of standing and Reserve Forces, the Reserves should be organised and equipped on a similar basis to regular forces in order to develop the interoperability necessary to train and conduct joint operations.”

To achieve this, and arising from the Steering Board report, the Reserve Defence Forces Review Implementation Board (RDFRIB) was established. Chaired by Brigadier General Frederic Swords, the RDFRIB reported in 2002. It recommended the establishment of a Reserve containing integrated and non-integrated elements.

On July 26th 2004, all of the hard work carried out by the RDFRIB culminated with Mr Michael Smith, TD, and then the Minister for Defence approving the RDF Review Implementation Plan, based on the RDFRIB report. The new organisation which came into effect on the 1st October 2005 will update and change the face of the Reserve, making it a more modern and integratable force. The new non-integrated reserve organisation mirrors that of the present PDF structure with three Reserve Infantry Brigades. The Reserve Force must now focus on training to a standard that will enable them to rapidly attain interoperability with the PDF, should the need arise.

Also included in the plan, was the formation of an integrated reserve comprising 2,656 personnel that will be fully integrated with the PDF units. These integrated personnel will have a much more dedicated training regime, training alongside their PDF comrades, under the control of the PDF unit commander. This integration is currently in the process of being formed. The scheduled timeline will be constantly monitored by the Monitoring Group, to ensure the plan maintains momentum. The integrated reserve also calls for the establishment of an RDF Training Authority (RDFTA). The role of the RDFTA is to provide a central training authority to support, administer training and provide evaluation and validation of the training undertaken.

The new Army Reserve is a very different organisation to An FCÁ. While building on the strengths of the old organisation, the Army Reserve will have a more meaningful and challenging role. Equipment has been improved and increased resources have been made available.