King George V reviews Irish soldiers

Basingstoke, 29 May 1915 - The first of the Irish divisions of what is known as ‘Kitchener’s Army’ was reviewed yesterday at Basingstoke by King George V.

Over 15,000 men, representing all the Irish regiments, were present, including the Dublin Fusiliers, the Munster Fusiliers and the Connaught Rangers. The bands of all the regiments played stirring tunes as they paraded in front of the King. The infantry fixed bayonets and the sun flashing from the steel deepened the martial atmosphere at the review.

His Majesty was impressed by the appearance of the troops and he 'warmly congratulated' the commanding officer on the efficiency of the division.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]