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.

The head of the UN has said he has confidence in the Irish general in charge of peacekeeping in Lebanon.

The Government has pledged another €3m to support Syrian refugees who have fled the civil war to Jordan and Lebanon.

While the Naval Service may have stolen the limelight for its migrant rescue operations, it was one of the busiest years on record for the rest of the Defence Forces, both at home and abroad.

The Irish Defence Forces take over command of a UN peacekeeping battalion in South Lebanon today.

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

A man accused of the torture and killing of two Irish soldiers is to be deported from the US to his native Lebanon.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has urged Independent TD Stephen Donnelly to rejoin the crisis-hit banking inquiry.

Enda Kenny has arrived in South Lebanon for the first visit by a Taoiseach to Irish peacekeeping troops in the dangerzone since 1999.

Irish peacekeeping troops on the frontline in Lebanon are on high alert for the possibility the Syrian civil war will engulf the area, military chiefs have revealed, as Enda Kenny becomes the first Taoiseach in 15 years to visit the danger zone.

A suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden car has targeted a Lebanese army checkpoint near the Syrian border, killing and wounding several soldiers.

They came to say goodbye to an old lady who served her country faithfully for 35 years, during which time she sailed the equivalent distance to the moon and back.

Israeli warplanes today struck a target south of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Irish troops abroad will be celebrating St Patrick's Day in a different style than many of those back home today.

The Justice Minister has paid tribute to members of the Irish Defence Forces.

Newly released files show tensions flared between the Irish government and Israel over the safety of Irish troops serving in Lebanon on peacekeeping duty.

CHRISTMAS is just five days away and for most this means the arrival of Santa.

THE state has apologised to the relatives of three peacekeeping soldiers killed in a land mine attack in 1989 on the basis of an independent report which found they should have been better protected by their commanding officers.

RELATIVES of three UN peacekeepers murdered in 1989 have hailed an independent inquiry into the incident as enough to expose a 22-year army cover-up.

Bereaved families of three Irish soldiers killed by a landmine in Lebanon 22 years ago said they have finally been vindicated.

Members of the defence forces have been deployed to south Lebanon to quell tensions. While their commander attests to their readiness for the mission, if violence escalates it could prevent a visit by President McAleese, writes Political Reporter Juno McEnroe in Tibnin.

IRISH troops on the frontline in south Lebanon are tasked with trying to keep a lid on tensions between the warring sides boiling over and threatening a fragile peace pact.

THE commander of UN peacekeeping troops in Lebanon said Irish soldiers have been given one of the country’s most dangerous “hotspots”, close to the contentious border with Israel.

Ninety members of the Defence Forces have left to take part in the new UNIFIL mission to Lebanon.

New information has sparked an independent review into the deaths of three Irish soldiers in the Lebanon 22 years ago.

Celebrations have erupted across the Middle East after Hosni Mubarak stepped down as Egypt’s president.

A former US Ambassador to Ireland believed the Government imposed strict military inspections at Shannon Airport over fears it would hurt them at the polls, leaked documents revealed today.

The tree at the centre of deadly clashes along the Lebanon-Israel border was in Israeli territory, the UN peacekeeping force said today.

LEBANESE and Israeli troops exchanged fire on the border in the most serious clashes since a fierce war four years ago, killing four people including two Lebanese soldiers and an Israeli army officer.

Two rockets have been fired from south Lebanon toward Israel, Lebanese security officials said today, injuring at least one Israeli.

RESIDENTS of the northern Israeli town of Nahariyaa woke yesterday to one of their country’s worst nightmares — rockets from Lebanon, and a possible second front in a battle that has raged for two weeks in Gaza.

Israeli police said at least three rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon today and rescue services reported at least one person wounded.

One of the world's most-wanted terrorists has been killed in a car bomb explosion in the Syrian capital Damascus.

YES sir, they can boogie.

Two Irish UN peacekeeping soldiers suffered minor injuries in a roadside bomb attack today in south Lebanon.

“CRACKED” was how Michael McAleavey described his state of mind when he shot down three of his Army colleagues in a hail of bullets.

Balint Szlanko reports from Beirut on the army’s victory over Fatah el-Islam and the prospect of transforming cross-party support into unity.

Lebanese army helicopters stepped up raids today on al-Qaida-inspired Islamic militants barricaded in a Palestinian refugee camp in the country’s north, after five soldiers were killed, a senior military official said.

THE sight of a timber frame Cuckoo’s Nest in the grounds of Limerick Racecourse in Patrickswell was enough to fire the imagination of some of the county’s hurling supporters.

Lebanon’s army today pounded al Qaida-inspired Islamic militants hiding in a Palestinian refugee camp in renewed heavy clashes following a few days of intermittent fighting.