The 27th Infantry Battalion (27th Inf Bn; Irish: 27ú Cathlán Coisithe) is one of the seven infantry battalions of the Irish Army. The battalion was established on 1 September 1973 and forms part of the 2nd Brigade. The Battalion Headquarters is at Aiken Barracks, in Dundalk, County Louth. History Following the outbreak of violence in Northern Ireland in 1969, known as The Troubles, the Irish Government sent soldiers to the border area. Initially, four company sized infantry groups were formed to operate along the border, however as the troubles escalated and with no end in sight it was decided to establish two infantry battalions as a permanent replacement for the border infantry groups. On 1 September 1973 the 27th Infantry Battalion and 28th Infantry Battalion were established. From its activation the 27th Infantry Battalion's Headquarters, Headquarters Company and A Company have been based in Dundalk. B Company was based in Gormanston, C Company in Cootehill and Support Company in Castleblaney. C Company was later disestablished. In 1998 B and SP Companies were based in Monaghan until they both moved to Dundalk in 2009. In 2012 B Company was based again in Gormanston. In 2013 three reserve Companies were added to the Battalion's establishment: C Company - Cavan, D Company - Dundalk, and E Company - Navan. The first officer commanding of the 27th Infantry Battalion was Lieutenant Colonel Louis Hogan. Hogan along with his second in command designed the battalion flash. The flash symbolism is based on the Irish mythological warrior Cúchulainn, given the relevance to the battalions area of operations and headquarters. The sword and two spears represent those presented to Cúchulainn by King Conchobar. The shape of the flash incorporates the angular sloped armour of the Panhard M3 armoured personnel carrier used by the battalion. The colours are saffron and purple. The saffron represents the colour of the cloaks worn by Irish mythical warriors the Fianna and purple is the traditional colour of infantry. The battalion marching tune is Clare's Dragoons, chosen by Louis Hogan who was originally from County Clare. The 27th Infantry Battalion celebrated 40 years since its establishment with a parade in Dundalk town on 31 August 2013. Border and Aid To Civil Powers Throughout the troubles, the 27th Infantry Battalion's largest commitment was providing checkpoints on border crossings in support to the Garda Síochána. Support to the Gardaí was known as Aid To Civil