A farewell to clothes? Union says Irish soldiers need more uniforms, scrounge from comrades

Published January 08, 2015

Legend has it that Celtic warriors once charged into battle naked. Things aren't that bad in the modern Irish army, but its union chief says soldiers must wage a daily battle for uniforms.

Mark Scally says the difficulty of finding clothes that fit has become so dire that, before the state funeral of a former prime minister this year, soldiers had to scramble to borrow colleagues' uniforms, switching labels and rank badges to assemble an honor guard. He says some soldiers wait more than a year to receive a properly tailored "No. 1" uniform for ceremonial duties.

"It's a disgrace," said Scally, president of the union that represents 8,500 members of the Irish Defence Forces.

The commander, Lt. Gen. Conor O'Boyle, said Thursday he hadn't been informed of any problem.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/us/a-farewell-to-clothes-union-says-irish-soldiers-need-more-uniforms-scrounge-from-comrades