THE ARMY'S big guns were out in force to mark the end of a military era.

This "shoot" at the Defence Forces' main firing ground in the Glen of Imaal was to celebrate two "old soldiers".

For the head of the Artillery Corps, the affable Colonel Ray Quinn, it was his last live firing before retirement in October.

And for the 25 pounder gun, it was the last time it would fire live rounds after 60 years of faithful army service.

To mark the occasion military men came from all corners of the country descended on the Co Wicklow range.

They included former artillerymen like ex-chief of staff Lt Gen Noel Bergin and current government press secretary, Commandant (rtd) Eoghan O Neachtain.

The 25 pounder joined the Army the same year Col Quinn was born -- in 1949.

"I joined the Army in 1967, but I'd been in the FCA for three years before that. I was firing field guns like the 18 pounder and 25 pounder when I was a teenager," he recalled.

He started in 2nd Field Artillery Regiment in McKee Barracks, Dublin, ended up its commanding officer and later became director of artillery, overseeing the army's range of field guns and heavy mortars.

Ray recently returned from a tour of duty in Kosovo.

LASER

"The equipment has improved tremendously since then," he said. "We have UAVs [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones for spotting], thermal imagers, laser ground radar and laser rangerfinders. We still teach the the basics of artillery, but in reality we rely on the new equipment."

In 1980, the venerable 25 pounder, which entered British Army service in 1938 and was the main British field gun in WWII, started to be replaced by the modern British 105mm gun.

Pakistan is possibly the only manufacturer left of 25 pounder shells and Irish army regular and reserve units fired Pakistani-made shells up to this year, but spare parts were becoming scarce and the guns were getting old.

The new 105mm is lighter, has a greater range and wider choice of ammunition and is airportable, a fact the air corps showed off by airlifting a 105mm gun, crew and ammunition to a firing point in the Glen.

"It was getting time to retire the 25 pounder," Col Quinn said.

The 48 guns delivered in 1949 had already seen war service with the British army with individual guns' history sheets detailing their story.

After the WWII, the 25 pounder was used in the Korea, between Israel and Arab nations and as recently as 2003 by Kurds against Saddam Hussein's army.

Yet the army's guns never fired a shot in anger, serving out their lives on regular range trips to the Glen, being lovingly cared for by generations of gunners.

witness

Hundreds of ageing gunners, some on walking aids helped by comrades, turned up to witness the 25 pounders' final shoot. The US and Russian military attaches also attended.

Fittingly,a gun commanded by Col Quinn fired the last live 25 pounder shell in Ireland.

But the 25 pounders career with the army is not over. Six of the guns will be kept for ceremonial salutes at Aras an Uachtarain and for other state occasions. And many of the guns will find new homes in museums at home and abroad.

mlavery@herald.ie

- Michael Lavery