The Irish Army's Vickers Helmet - An Irish insult to the British or a British Con Job?

A lecture based on new research by Eugene Jordan, former President of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society (GAHS).
The newly formed Irish army’s decision to equip its troops with German-style helmets in 1927 has been claimed to have been a deliberate insult to the British. Yet, in December 1940, the British army approached the Irish Legation in London and requested that the Irish Army send them over a Vickers helmet along with advice on how it performed in service. Far from being insulted, they believed the Irish helmet to be superior to the British Brodie helmet. The Irish army responded, as requested, sending a helmet along with a note stating that the helmet was useless.
In the mid-1920s, the Irish army contracted the British Vickers armaments company to manufacture helmets to the superior German design, but the product that emerged was vastly inferior to the German original. The saga revealed that the Germans had a significant advantage in steel technology over the British, that was unknown to the army.
Intriguingly, the Irish army had sent one of its officers to the Vickers factory to conduct quality control tests, while the helmets were being manufactured. All tests were passed, but when the helmets arrived in Ireland, they failed to pass testing.
What happened, did Vickers pull a con job on the Irish army and if so, why?
The lecture was the first in the 120-year history of the society, to be delivered live online, in September 2020, due to the pandemic lockdowns.

[@derekstynes9631]

I Think You are on to Something about the German Steel and the WW1 German Helmet is stronger than even the WW11 German Helmet . I have worn all three Helmets in the past . The Brodie while a Gunner in the FCA 14 Battery of the Seventh Field Artillery Regiment and both German Helmets while I was Involved in WW11 Battle Reenactment of German Troops and The German Helmets where unmatched in quality at that time . Thanks for Your Post and keep up the good work .

[@benholroyd5221]

It took me about 40 seconds to start making sense of your Irish accent.

[@falsehistory]

Brilliant! But nobody can make any sense of yours! ;)

[@benholroyd5221]

@@falsehistory well I am from Yorkshire. So yeah southerners probably.

[@philiprufus4427]

@@benholroyd5221 Personaly, I thought the man a fine speaker and his Southern Irish accent a delight to listen to. I have family in Yorkshire and have visited the county lots of times over the last fifty years(great countryside,great food,great pubs,great accents).
A good talk, which cleared up a lot of points and scotched a few myths. It was most interesting to note the helmet was in fact a vickers product.
Not surprising when there were once at least six Irish Regiments in the Briitish Army.
I am from Scotland,and no, - not a Nat, a Brit. Thank you,informative stuff.

[@benholroyd5221]

@@philiprufus4427 I think you missed the joke. The intro was in Gaelic and it ended around the 40 second mark

[@bluechip297]

He opened his speech in Irish. LOL.

[@matthewcharles5867]

The French uniforms weren't as bad as most people think , at least they were easy to identify. The countless accounts in ww1 places like lone pine in Gallipoli and pozieres in France where allied units Australian English etc sewed big white patches on their uniforms so they could Id each other during the trench fighting. At least with the brodie helmet it allows you to hear a bit better. Enjoyed the video cheers.

[@thurin84]

i suspect the british interest in the vickers helmet was for use with opposition forces for training, as the adoption of a helmet so similar to the enemies by combat troops wouldve been catastrophic. there are period pics of british troops wearing german kit for exercises and wargames.
while it may have been substandard, the m27 certainly is stylish. one wonders if the lugs were retained with the intention of addition of something like the stirnpanzer or only for aesthetic purposes.

[@rule3036]

Did the Irish a potential enemy of the UK think that the Brits would supply them with a top quality product? Ffs 🤣🤣

[@falsehistory]

Ya haven't done any research on the subject, FFS. 20 per cent of its officers and 50 per cent of its soldiers were Irish ex-servicemen of the British Army in the New Irish army!

[@philiprufus4427]

Thousands of Irishmen joined The British Army on the outbreak of war, - read a history book FFS.
Irishmen have served in The British Armed Forces since Methuselah was a boy. Credit where its due, - please'

[@falsehistory]

@@philiprufus4427 FFS, It's hard to figure out what yer smokin. Please be good enough to pass it around.

[@geordiewishart1683]

It cannot be denied that even in this modern age, the Irish are quick to blame the British, particularly the English, for all their ills.
England out of Ireland is still the battle cry of Sinn Fein.
But nothing mentioned of the many thousands of Irish living in U.K. simply for economic reasons.

[@falsehistory]

@@geordiewishart1683 It would appear that your opinion is based entirely on racial prejudice and is not a comment about the subject presented in the video.