I saw some WWII photos on MSN, supposedly from WWII.  Most of the Army pics were in the England and Ireland, and showed most of the troops wearing WWI helmets.  In at least one photo they were armed with Springfield 1903 or 1903 A3 rifles.  I would have thought the new gear would have went with troops headed for the UK.  Does anyone know when soup plate helmets were replaced?  Were there US troops in Ireland?  Thanks.

US troops were in Northern Ireland, not the Republic.  It took awhile for the new equipment to arrive.  The Marines on Guadalcanal all used 03's for instance.

Probably just National Guard guys with obsolete stuff.

The M1917/M1917A1 style helmet was phased out starting in 1941.  They still saw common usage in 1942 in the PTO until the M1 helmet caught up with the front line troops there.

The M1903 series rifle was still the primary arm with the Marines until late 1942 I want to say.  But all over the PTO you will see that combo much more often than the ETO.  The Army still used the M1903s for rear echelon until production of the M1 Garand and Carbine caught up to demand.  

The British still used the Brodie helmet all through the war and their Homeguard was equipped with a lot of obsolete or limited obsolete US arms.  They even received M1 Garands but they were never used.

Would have to see the photos to be certain of the time frame though.

The 34th Infantry Infantry Division was a National Guard Division that was activated in early '41 and took part in the Louisiana Maneuvers. They were rushed to Ireland in January, 1942, and still had their M1917A1 helmets. The First Ranger Battalion was formed mainly from men of the 34th. Read a book about the Rangers in the Dieppe raid, and IIRC, they didn't get their M1 helmets until after they had started Ranger training. Search 34th Division Northern Ireland and you'll find some of the photos, including one with M1903s, as stated. A lot of Garands in evidence also.

Also, due to shortages of the "M7" grenade launcher attachment for the M1 rifle, many rifle grenaders were issued the '03 even as late as Normandy.