So that’s Thursday nearly wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

The Irish army will not be flying into Syria to help Irish ISIS bride Lisa Smith return home, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.

"To be honest I don't think I will be going back, ever."

A former Army private, a rugby international, a martial arts instructor and a one-time IT recruitment consultant are among nine young men who have become the latest additions to the Naval Service officers' ranks.

Three years ago the men of Jadotville, Congo had their 15 minutes of fame. Jamie Dornan sprinkled stardust on these

Only one in fifteen people in the Defence Forces are women according to figures released last year.

For the generations born in Ireland since the end of the Second World War it is understandably difficult for some of them to envisage the state of public opinion on the issue of Irish neutrality during WWII.

While Ireland was officially neutral in the Second World War, thousands of Irishmen fought against fascism by serving in the British, American, and Canadian armies, including on Normandy’s beaches, says Sean O’Riordan

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The death took place today of one of Mayo GAA’s best-known supporters, John Durcan.

“When he hit that hill, it was like he was doing what he was bred to do.”

A former female Defence Forces soldier arrested in Syria on suspicion of joining Islamic State (IS) also served in the Air Corps, where she helped work on the government jet.

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Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement for Jewish people. It is 45 years since the war which bore its name.

A major military commemoration is planned next week to mark the 80th anniversary of the British handover of Spike Island and other coastal forts in Cork.

Irish soldiers could be deployed in war-torn Syria before the end of the year, even though the country has become the centre of a new Cold War-era battle between Russia, the US, Britain, France, and their proxy allies.

A vanity case belonging to the fiancee of Michael Collins is to go under the auction hammer next month.

The ‘Beast from the East’ Siberian snow storm set to grip Ireland from tonight could cause as much havoc as the historic 1982 freeze that brought the country to a standstill.

Israeli military intelligence officers recruited the services of Irish speakers so they could translate sensitive information transmitted between Irish soldiers working for the UN in Lebanon.

British soldiers are praising Irish Army recruitment videos after claims the British army has “gone soft”.

Is there an official silence on the alleged past British plot to have our former taoiseach, Charlie Haughey, assassinated?

Irish soldiers have tested a new generation of air defence weaponry in Sweden to ensure the Defence Forces has a “state of the art” system for the next 20 years.

Liam Cosgrave was humble but played a key role in politics and will be remembered as doing the State exemplary service, writes Political Editor Daniel McConnell.

An officer and a gentleman is how Liam Cosgrave should be remembered.

A security analyst believes the Defence Forces will find it difficult to manage and police a ‘hard’ border post-Brexit.

From deployment in The Congo in the 1960s to present day operations in the Golan Heights Irish soldiers have found themselves in combat situations. Ryle Dwyer reads Dan Harvey’s book on our Blue Berets.

Naval Service personnel, who have saved more than 15,000 migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea, are to get an allowance they were entitled to after a two-year battle.

McGuinness worked out a united Ireland was not going to be achieved by IRA violence, writes Victoria White

Check out the Irish Defence Forces training at the Glen of Imaal.

The first half of the 1940s saw the Marina plant virtually shut down due to wartime problems. The workers there survived on scraps, while others moved to blitz-hit Dagenham to find jobs.

A state agency confirmed it has spent €700,000 over the past five years in trying to eradicate rhododendron in the Killarney National Park.

At least 730 US military flights came through Shannon Airport last year, anti-war campaigners have claimed.

Former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald ordered an overhaul of preparations for a mass exodus of “refugees” from Northern Ireland in the event of chaos breaking out after the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

The revamped preparations would take into account the then new hospital at Letterkenny in Co Donegal being used for casualties and expanded Irish Army bases to house the "initial reception of refugees".

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has praised the work of the Defence Forces after revealing that the army and navy have saved the lives of 15,600 refugees since the Mediterranean migrant crisis began.

THE fall in strength of our Defence Forces can no longer be ignored and must be addressed by the Government as a matter of urgency. 

Peacekeepers — The Irish in South Lebanon is on RTÉ One at 9.35pm on Tuesday.

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The Guards is a new series on RTÉ Two looking at life behind the scenes for gardaí in Dublin. It airs at 9.55pm on Tuesday night.