Following on from the Irish camouflage shirt we looked at a few weeks ago, today we have the matching trousers:

Again these are clearly inspired by the British CS95 set of clothing, but the trousers especially show some differences in thought process. Firstly the field dressing pocket on the hip has been retained form the earlier pattern of combat trousers (the British would move this to the upper arm in their CS95 clothing):

Two slash pockets are provided over each hip:

A pair of large cargo pockets are sewn to each thigh, secured with a button these are bellowed designs with a pair of metal eyelets in the bottom corners to allow water to drain out:

The waist band of the trousers has a series of belt loops, whilst the fly is secured with a button and zip:

The bottom of each trouser leg has a drawstring allowing it to be tightened and tied to blouse over the boot:

A double thickness of fabric is provided at the knees to reinforce this vulnerable area:

Compared to British designs, the label is very simple and just gives details of manufacturer and year of production:

It is very interesting to see how Britain’s close neighbour took elements of the then new CS95 clothing system and then modified the design for their own needs. These trousers seem to be a well thought out design and have served the Irish Defence Forces for many years now.

I am not intending to cover a huge amount of Irish kit on the blog, however a good friend has sent me some pictures of the Irish smock and so we will be crossing the Irish Sea again in the coming weeks for a further post as that is just too good a piece of kit not to cover!