Minister pays tribute to troops set for Lebanon
Minister with Responsibility for Defence, Paul Kehoe, paid tribute to the members of the 112th Infantry Battalion who will leave in the coming weeks for service with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The members of the 112th Infantry Battalion were reviewed in Aiken Barracks, Dundalk.
In his address to the troops, the Minister said: “This year marks significant anniversaries in relation to Ireland's UN peacekeeping role – it will be the 60th anniversary of Ireland’s first participation in a UN peacekeeping mission and it is the 40th anniversary of our first deployment to Lebanon as part of the UNIFIL mission. Ireland has participated in the UNIFIL mission since its establishment in 1978 and today, UNIFIL is recognized as a force for the stability of the entire region. The Minister went on to say "The Irish Defence Forces have continually risen to the challenge and repeatedly provide professional peacekeepers that have the experience and capability to undertake ever more complex and robust operations."
Soldiers from 29 counties around Ireland were represented among the 344 strong battalion deploying to UNIFIL. In all over 640 members of the Permanent Defence Force are currently serving on overseas missions. They are deployed in UN, EU and NATO led missions in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
The Minister concluded by saying: “Finally, I want to wish each and every member of the 112th Infantry Battalion, under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel John Kilmartin a safe and successful mission. You are travelling to Lebanon with my best wishes and those of the rest of the nation.”
Ireland has a long association with UNIFIL since its establishment in 1978. The main Defence Forces battalion was withdrawn in 2001, following 23 years of service with UNIFIL. Ireland again deployed a contingent to Lebanon in 2006, for a period of 12 months, with a Finnish Engineering company, following on from an escalation of hostilities, when the UNIFIL Force was significantly expanded under a UN mandate. An Irish Battalion returned to the Lebanon in the summer of 2011. The 112th Infantry Battalion replaces the 111h Infantry Battalion which deployed to Lebanon in November 2018. Ireland’s contribution to UNIFIL is approximately 375 personnel.