Blue Hussars

This escort first appeared in public in 1932 to form a guard of honour for the Papal Legate visiting the Irish Free State for the 1932 Eucharistic Congress.

Contemporary rumour suggested (incorrectly) that these distinctive hussar-style uniforms, which gave the unit its nickname, had been found in a cupboard in Dublin Castle in 1932 and dated back to British rule in Ireland.

The escort formation consisted of an advance guard of two, a single connecting file, two flanking riders, and two troops of thirty.

The bulk of the personnel comprising the Mounted Escort were from the Artillery Corps, which during the 1930s was the only part of the Irish Defence Forces employing horses in any numbers.

Patrick McGilligan, the Minister for Finance who advocated successfully for their abolition, defended his action in Seanad Éireann by saying I feel no great shame in having helped to get rid of the cavalry escort.

It was a question whether it was wise in these days to start to bring out these "Blue Hussars" again, as they were called, or whether we would not become more modern and go in for the motor-cyclist and his peculiar uniform.

This has the current result that, while crossbred Irish Draught and Thoroughbred horses are the mounts used by the British Household Cavalry for state and royal occasions,[1] the Republic of Ireland imports motorcycles to fulfill that role in its own ceremonial.