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Just got back from a short stay in Ireland. My quarters was in The Curragh Camp, Kildare. It is an old Irish Army barracks.

I managed to get me a genuine Irish Army Boonie Hat! This particular hat is a strange one because when you say 'boonie hat' you mean in fact 'jungle hat'. So when I asked around for an Irish boonie hat I got this one. But it is not a JUNGLE hat! No, this is a very WARM hat, provided with black fleece for extra insulation. The Irish liked the boonie hat concept so much that they made it into a Cold Weather hat. (The fleece covers only the TIPS of the ears.)

Inside label text: CARRA/SEYNTEX TIELT 2003 XL.

Thought you might like this...

Wow!! Another interesting find you've made. That looks like it would be warm in the chilly weather of Ireland.

BTW, the Irish Army -better Defence Force- made a professional impression on me. Though it is a small force of only 10.000 soldiers, they seem to be very well equiped and trained. Ireland is not part of NATO, but it does have a rather large contribution to UN missions. I saw some of the Irish special forces (Rangers) in Liberia in april 2007. The Rangers have really jungle hats with a very wide brim. (I did not find one in the Curragh).

Oh, did I mention that collecting camouflage boonie hats is one of my other strange hobbies??

Nothing "strange" about that aquarius!