St Patricks' Day: Chris Neeson's story

Chris Neeson served for ten years in the 1^st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment.

He lost the use of his limbs after being involved in a motorbike accident in 2013. He shared with us his fondest memories of St Patricks Day.

“St Patricks Day and Rangers Day are the biggest days for the Regiment. It started off at 6:00am with a bugler coming into your room and the Officers giving you a drink called Gunshot, which is made of black tea and rum. It was the most hideous thing you could imagine but it was a tradition from the regiment. Every year, they would go round everyone’s room and make them drink it.

The Regiment, along with the Irish Guards, would also receive a shamrock from Northern Ireland during the drumhead service.

“At 11:00am, the regiment would go on Parade. It would be a huge event for the whole regiment and family members would be invited, too. The service would last 45 minutes, then you were off duty. You would stress about the parade but once it was done, it was time to relax and have fun.

“After service, we would always have a chariot race. Every company would make up a chariot and run a course that had been laid out. The pictures I have are from Kuwait. It was always good fun. Everyone would join in. It’s stuff you wouldn’t do on a normal day. Then we would all go off into town and drink with our battalions.

St Patricks Day was always a bright spot after being on tour, but even while serving in Iraq and Kuwait, we still managed to celebrate the day. We paraded through the desert. It was very surreal. It’s something I’ll never experience again in my life."

“Now, I recognise the day by having a catch up with some old friends, especially now they are living back in Northern Ireland again. It’s a good excuse to catch up with the lads you haven’t spoken to throughout the year. Once you do catch up, it’s like you haven’t missed a thing.”