The team was originally equipped with four Fouga CM170 Magister jet trainers, and was drawn from the Light Strike Squadron of the Irish Air Corps based at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel near Dublin.

The team made few appearances outside their own country during its existence, their first overseas display being carried out at the RAF Brawdy Open Day on 26 July 1990.

Their next overseas displays didn't take place until 1997, when the team visited a number of airshows in the UK and Belgium to commemorate the Irish Air Corps' 75th anniversary.

They appeared at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, in 1997, where the team was awarded the prestigious Lockheed Martin Cannestra Trophy for the Best Display by an Overseas Performer.

In 2022 the Silver Swallows returned operating 4 Pilatus PC-9Ms from Air Corps College, Flying Training School.