‘A gent full of charisma, leadership, inspiration’
These were some of the tributes paid to the army chief and sportsman, Lieutenant General Dermot Earley, who passed away yesterday after a long battle with illness.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen and President Mary McAleese led tributes to the former Defence Forces chief.
The 62-year-old died 10 days after he stepped aside as the country’s most senior army officer.
The Taoiseach said Lt Gen Earley had brought great distinction to himself, his family and Ireland.
“Dermot was a great role model for everyone in our Defence Forces and he was an innovative and extremely competent chief of staff who carried out his duties with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of efficiency,” Mr Cowen said.
“Dermot Earley bravely and selflessly gave of himself to build peace across the globe.
“His courageous work with the UN was rooted in a desire to bring peace to people in the parts of the world who had only previously known conflict.”
Born in 1948, Lt Gen Earley joined the Defence Forces as a cadet in 1965. He was one of the first soldiers to become an Army Ranger and served on UN missions in the Middle East from 1975 to 1977, Lebanon in 1982/83 and again in 1997 and also with the UN in New York.
President McAleese said he was an outstanding soldier with a military career characterised by exceptional dedication to service.
“Dermot’s personal attributes of high integrity and strong character first came to the fore on the GAA pitch where he distinguished himself on many occasions; these same qualities would serve him well in military life,” she said.
Widely recognised for using his UN experience to help reform and modernise the Defence Forces, Lt Gen Earley also enjoyed a 20-year footballing career at the highest level.
He won two All-Stars with Roscommon and narrowly missed out on an All-Ireland medal after his county was beaten by Kerry in the 1980 final.
He is survived by his mother Kitty, his wife Mary, sons David, Dermot and Conor and daughters Paula, Ann-Marie and Noelle and grandson Oisin.
The Defence Forces said a military funeral was being planned with the family for the end of the week.
