Royal Irish Regiment Memorial

During the Battle of Mons in August 1914, the troops of the British expeditionary force tried to hold the crossroads "la Bascule", a strategic place for the battles of August 23, 1914. When the British troops began to withdraw, the Germans tried to prevent this. Although undermanned, a group of approximately 45 men from the Royal Irish Regiment resisted the enemy's attacks as best they could and held their ground. Finally, after hours of enduring machine gun fire, German artillery bombarded the intersection.

It is to commemorate this feat of arms of these Irish soldiers that this monument was erected. The Celtic Cross was inaugurated on November 11, 1923 in the presence of Lord French, Marshal of the British Army, Viscount of Ypres and honorary colonel of this regiment. That same year the regiment was disbanded and donated a drum to the city of Mons.