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Regimental Mascots

The Irish Guards

The following newspaper article is the first mention I have found of theIrish Guards:-

The War office authorities deny the truth of recent reports that theyhave taken preliminary steps towards the establishment of a battalion of IrishGuards, and have met with failure. It is perfectly true that they have incontemplation the addition of such a battalion to the British army, though itsformation is not to be undertaken until the matter can be considered inconnection with the military proposals to be made by the Government in thecoming session. At present Ireland is not, except by individual soldiers,represented in the brigade of guards. and it is thought that the formation ofan Irish battalion would at the same time be a compliment to the sisterkingdom, and a means of attracting some excellent fighting material to thecolours. Mr. Balfour once declared in one of the regular debates which the Irish membersof the House of Commons get up in seeking to denounce commanding officers forrefusing to permit soldiers when on duty to wear the shamrock on St. Patrick'sday, that he was sure many Scotsmen did not think of St. Andrew's Day, and thata large number of Englishmen were altogether oblivious of the date of thefestival of St. George. The Liverpool Courier, Thursday, December 2nd, 1897

For another newspaper article from 1897 - on the bravery of the Irish-click here

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The regiment of The Irish Guards was formed in April, 1900 by order of HRHQueen Victoria to commemorate the bravery of the Irish troops in the Boer Warin 1899 and 1900. The Irish Guards played a major part in both World Wars,winning a total of six Victoria Crosses. In 1901 HRH Princess Alexandra first presented the Irish Guards with shamrockand this presentation by a member of the Royal Family has continued every yearsince on St. Patrick's Day (March 17th). The Regimental Mascot is an Irish Wolfhound who is looked after by a Drummer(Guardsmen of the Corps of Drums are given the rank of Drummer), and leads theRegiment on all parades. In the earliest days, it was a drummer boy who tookcare of the hound.

Tucks Postcard - Drummer boy with the Regimental Pet, Brian Boru

In 1902 The Irish Guards were presented with their first colours by KingEdward VII at a ceremony on Horse Guards Parade.

H.M. The King presenting new Colours to theIrish Guards at Buckingham Palace (This particular presenting of the Colours took place in 1913, when themascot was Leitrim Boy)

The officers of the Irish Wolfhound Club had been looking for ways to bringthe Irish Wolfhound breed to the notice of more people because they felt thatgreater popularity would make the breed's revival more certain, and they hit onthe notion of presenting an Irish wolfhound to the Irish Guards. At the Annual General Meeting of the Club on October 15th, 1901 the HonSecretary proposed "That with a view to increasing the popularity of thebreed, the Club do present an Irish Wolfhound to the newly raised regiment ofIrish Guards, provided it be accepted for the purposes of a regimental hound,and the Honorary Secretary be authorised to conduct the matter on behalf of theClub." It was proposed by Captain Graham [President of the Club and Chairman at theAGM] that a sum of ten guineas be voted from the Club funds towards thepurchase of a suitable Irish Wolfhound for the Irish Guards - unanimouslypassed. Capt. Graham then made a call for subscriptions for the purchase of thehound - he headed the list with £1.1.0d., and a sum of £11.11.0d. wasraised towards the cost. [Note: £11.11.0d in 1901 is the equivalent of£862.04 in 2006, using the retail price index] A letter, dated 8 January, 1902 and addressed to Capt. Graham, was receivedfrom A.J. Cooper, Lt. Colonel of the 1st Btn. Irish Guards: "My Dear Sir, "On behalf of my Battalion I beg to tender you as President of the IrishWolfhound Club our expression of thanks for the presentation of an IrishWolfhound by the members of the Club. We feel the kind thought which promptedthe gift, and shall appreciate the Hound as a Regimental Pet. "Trusting you will inform the members of the Club of the gratitude of the1st Btn. Irish Guards.... "Yours truly...." To this end, the Club created a special class for the breed at the Kennel ClubShow at Crystal Palace in 1902. The Class was called "The Irish GuardsPresentation Hound Competition", was open only to members of the Club,there was no entry fee and the sum of 30 guineas was to be paid to the owner ofthe winning dog, so it had increased during the months since the AGM. [Note:30 guineas in 1902 is the equivalent of £2,351.01 in 2006, using theretail price index, so this was going to be quite an expensive gift to theIrish Guards] The class had eight entries and took place at 3 p.m. on the second day of theshow. It was judged by Captain Graham assisted by Fred Gresham and R. HoodWright and they made their selection of the hound best fitted in their opinion"by age, promise, quality or appearance, keeping in view the fact that ithas to be trained for Regimental purposes". The class was won by Mrs. Gerard's Rajah of Kidnal, born May 24th, 1900, by Ch.O'Leary out of Cheevra.      The presentation to the Irish Guards at theKennel Club Show, 1902 To the left of Rajah of Kidnal is Mrs. Gerard and Captain Graham, with FredGresham at Rajah's head Once presented to the Irish Guards, Rajah became known as Brian Boru (afterIreland's greatest National Hero).

Rajah of Kidnal (Brian Boru)

Rajah as he appeared in The Graphic, October 251902

The piece accompanying the picture was entitled THE IRISH GUARDS NEW PET This Irish wolf hound "Rajah of Kidnal", exhibited by Mrs. A.J.Gerard, was selected in the competition instituted by the Irish Wolf Hound Club at the Kennel Club Show at the Crystal Palace, to be presented to the Irish Guards as a regimental pet. The owner of the hound received thirty guineas, the sum which was offered in the competition. Our photograph is by Hall, Regent Street

Brian Boru was the Regimental Pet (as they were called until 1961) from1902 to 1910.

Painting of Brian Boru and handler, with Irish Guard  Photograph of Brian Boru with handler (Photo taken at Aldershot in 1906)

Illustration from The Sphere of February 14th, 1903entitled THE IRISH GUARDS ON THE MARCH and their faithful Wolfhound The Irish Guards are very proud of their wolfhound, which was presentedto them by the Irish Wolfhound Club. His name is Rajah of Kidnal. He walks outwith the regiment on all their marches. The battalion is stationed at presentat the Tower where this picture was sketched. The illustration is by Percy Spence.      Rajah (or 'Paddy', as he was known) as he appearedinThe Field in 1904      Painting by C.A. Collins, c. 1905, of off dutyDrummers in the Tower of London with Brian Boru      Inspection by Field Marshal Earl Roberts, VC, 1stBattalion Irish Guards Gale & Polden postcard c. 1905 fromThe WellingtonSeries   Brian Boru can be seen on the right of the picturewith his handler      Postcard from about 1908 of the Drums &Fifes of the Irish Guards with Brian Boru, Regimental Pet     Postcard circa 1908. In the Ettlingers "NewArt" Series.       Painting by Godfrey Merry of Brian Boru leadingthe Irish Guards from Buckingham Palace, c 1908, on a very wet day      Postcard - posted in 1908 -showing Brian Boru and handler in Windsor      St. Patrick's Day 1908. Brian Boru on the right      Postcard of The Irish Guards with theirregimental pet, Brian Boru, marching thro' the Park (on the back of the card it reads: "The Irish Guards are part of theHousehold Brigade, and the regiment was raised in April 1900 to commemorate thebravery of the Irish regiments in the South African War. In the Great War, theIrish Guards, on the 23rd August, 1914, stood for the first time in the line ofbattle. They distinguished themselves at Ypres and Loos and on the Somme and inthe critical fighting in 1918.")      This is a plate from a book printed in 1912 but,since it is of Brian Boru and he retired in 1910, the picture was presumably taken no later than 1910, when he would have been ten years old, which would be about right for the way he looks.

This postcard was posted in 1915, but the regimentalpet is obviously Rajah of Kidnal and not Leitrim Boy who was in service at the time. The postcard was "Designed and printed with authority by Geo. Falkner& Sons", London

Front page of The Field for February 23rd, 1935with an advertisement for Black & White Scotch Whisky showing The Irish Guards on St. Patrick's Day, from a painting by ChristopherClark, R.I. (Although the date of publication is 1935, the hound appears to be BrianBoru [Rajah of Kidnal], which is why it is included here. I have not been able to discover when thepicture was painted)

The advertisement reads: "The Irish Guards..... Her Majesty Queen Victoria in order to commemorate the bravery shown bythe Irish Regiments in the operations in South Africa was "graciouslypleased to command that an Irish Regiment of Foot Guards be formed" (ArmyOrder 1st April 1900). The Pipes of the Regiment have one drone less than thoseof the Scottish and the pipers are dressed in green tunic and saffron kilt. Theregimental pet is an Irish wolfhound. Field Marshal the Earl of Cavan is thepresent Colonel of the Regiment, previous ones having been Earl Roberts, EarlKitchener and the Earl of Ypres. The public has been pleased to signify its approval of the merits of"Black & White" - the Whisky of Royal Appointment."

Updated 7/11/2007