Irish general to be laid to rest with full military honours

A decorated Irish general, who led a huge UN peacekeeping force in the Middle East in the 1980s, will be buried with military honours in Dublin later this week.

Tributes poured in from around the world yesterday after the Defence Forces announced the death on Saturday of Lieutenant General William ‘Bill’ Callaghan, 94, who was originally from Buttevant in Co Cork.

Known affectionately as ‘The Bull’, Lt Gen Callaghan had the unique distinction of holding the two most important UN appointments perhaps in the world during a tumultuous period in the 1970s and 80s.