US Trends

what medal did members of the irish free state army earn during the emergency

Members of the Irish Free State Army (the Irish Defence Forces) during “The Emergency” earned the Emergency Service Medal 1939–1946 (Irish: An Bonn Seirbhíse Éigeandála), often referred to as the Irish Army Emergency Medal.

What the medal was

The Emergency Service Medal was:

  • Instituted in October 1944 , but actually manufactured and distributed from 1947 onward, after the war had ended.
  • Awarded to serving members of the Irish Defence Forces (Army, Air Corps, Navy) and a range of auxiliary services for service between 3 September 1939 and 31 March 1946 – the period Ireland called “The Emergency”.

Who was eligible in the Army

For the regular Army and Defence Forces:

  • Officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the Irish Army (including Construction Corps, Army Nursing Service, and Chaplaincy Service) were eligible.
  • The basic qualifying service was at least 365 days (continuous or cumulative) during the Emergency period.
  • Reserve elements such as the Local Defence Force (LDF) and Local Security Force (LSF) also qualified, typically after two years of service in some interpretations, but the core Army medal was for the 365-day threshold.

Design and bars

The medal:

  • Is bronze , about 35 mm in diameter.
  • Obverse : a female figure representing Éire with an Irish wolfhound and a downward-pointing sword, with the inscription “Ré na Práinne” (“Emergency Period”).
  • Reverse : an olive branch with the dates 1939 and 1946 , plus an inscription indicating the specific corps or battalion (e.g., Na Fórsaí Cosanta for the regular Defence Forces).
  • Bars : soldiers who served an extra two years could receive a bar inscribed 1939–1946 ; up to two such bars could be awarded, meaning someone could have the medal plus one or two bars for longer service.

Context: “The Emergency”

In Ireland, World War II was officially called “The Emergency” because the state remained neutral but maintained a large, mobilised defence force to guard against invasion, espionage, and internal unrest. The Emergency Service Medal was specifically created to recognise that domestic wartime service, even though Ireland did not fight as a combatant nation.

So, if you meet someone who served in the Irish Free State Army (later the Irish Army) during 1939–1946, the medal they would have received for that service is the Emergency Service Medal 1939–1946. Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.