Irish Medals

Scouts

Catholic Scouts of Ireland Merit Badges

The first merit badge scheme used by the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland was based on the scheme used by the Boy Scouts of America. Although based on the badges used by the BSA the CBSI badges did differ sometimes in design and colour.

CBSI Felt Merit Badges from the 1940s

CBSI 1970s Nylon Merit Badges

In use from the 1940s up to the 2004. The design and requirements for the badge were similar to the UK version, Catholic Scouts of Ireland badges did not have the Scout logo on them, it was not unusual to see a mixture of Scout logo and non-Scout logo worn by a C.S.I. Scout. The badges measured approximately 45mm by 45mm. The newer version of the badge had rounded corners and a black felt backing, older versions had a white backing. 

CBSI Air Scouts

 CBSI Sea Scouts

The merit badges worn by C.S.I. Scouts were very similar to those worn by Scouts in the U.K., the only difference was C.S.I. badges did not have the Scout symbol. It was common to see a C.S.I. Scout wearing both C.S.I. badges and U.K. badges as can be seen on this Scouts uniform.

Scout Association of Ireland Sea Scouts

Progressive Badge Scheme

In 2002 the S.A.I. introduced a new badge scheme for the Sea Scout section. The new scheme was known as the Progressive Badge Scheme. When the two associations merged in 2004 the scheme was continued by former S.A.I. Sea Scout Troops up until 2010, the scheme was discontinued with the introduction of the One Programme. Sea Scout Troops participating in the Progressive Badge Scheme could also were badges introduced in 2004 when they became part of Scouting Ireland although from what I have seen it appears Sea Scout Troops either adapted the new Scouting Ireland badges or remained with the Progressive Badge Scheme, I did not see any Troops using both schemes at the same time.

Catholic Scouts of Ireland and Scout Association of Ireland

 Cub Scout Merit Badges

In use from the 1980s up to the 2004, some Packs did continue using them up to the introduction of the One Programme in 2010. The design and requirements for the badge were similar to the UK version, Catholic Scouts of Ireland badges did not have the Scout logo on them, it was not unusual to see a mixture of Scout logo and non-Scout logo worn by a C.S.I. Cub Scout. The badges measured approximately 40mm by 30mm.

These badges were also used by the Scout Association of Ireland S.A.I. from the late 1980s up to the merger in 2004. Although the badge design was the same in the three stage badges Athlete and Swimmer the colour of the badge was different for S.A.I. Stage 1 Red, Stage 2 Yellow and stage three was Green. The requirements for the S.A.I. badge were different, a Cub had to take part in four different athletic competitions, 50 metre sprint, throwing a cricket ball, high jump and long jump, points were awarded for each event, the number of points gained determined the stage of badge awarded.  

Bob-a-Job Badges

One on the main sources of fundraising for the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland was Bob-a-Job week. Bob-a-Job week and was renamed Scout Job Week in 1971 and was advertised and reported on in the national newspapers. The first Irish Bob-a-Job took place in 1951. Before the Golden Jubilee of the CBSI in 1977 badges were usually undated. The badges for the Jubilee had Jubilee Year on them, after Jubilee Year the year appeared on the squirrel badge and other designs although some badges after Jubilee Year some designs did not contain the year.

The badge depicting two squirrels was given to Scouts who had earned above a certain amount of money, this was replaced by the Super Jobbers badge. The squirrels on the Scout badge were yellow or gold and the Cub badge had a red squirrel.  Golden Jubilee Year was 1977.

Undated CSI. This one was issued in 1985 for the release of the Ghost Busters film.

1.  
2.                                    Diamond Jubilee 1987
3.  
4. 
5. Bob-a-Job week badges. In 1989 the two Irish Scout Associations, C.B.S.I. and S.A.I. joined together for Scout Job Week sponsored by Johnson Wax (Ireland) who made household cleaning products. Scouts manned 200 stalls at supermarkets around the country where they did shoe-shining and members of the public could leave details of jobs they wanted done and the Scouts would call at an appointed time, accompanied by adults, to perform the allotted tasks. A Super-Jobber badge was awarded for collecting over a certain amount of money.
6.    
7. Scout Bob-a-Job Card
8.  
9. A Scout was issued with a card to record details of each task carried out and the amount received.

Scouting Ireland Skills Badges 2004 to 2010

Below are the Skills badges used by Scouting Ireland from 2004 until the introduction of the One Programme in 2010. They are similar to the present design although there were only four levels instead of the present nine levels.

Backwoods Skills

Scouting Ireland Skills Badges 2010 Current Issue

A progression of 9 badges numbered 1 to 9 with different borders.

Air Skills