Irish troops celebrate their last Lebanese St Patrick's Day

Irish peacekeepers today celebrated their last St Patrick’s Day in south Lebanon, where they had been stationed for more than two decades.

"It’s been 23 years now during which we have shared the work and toil of the people of south Lebanon ... it’s a real wrench" to be leaving, said Irish Defence Minister Michael Smith.

Smith was visiting the troops especially for St Patrick’s Day, which the Irish UN peacekeepers were celebrating two days early because the force’s commander, General Seth Kofi Obeng, will be abroad on March 17.

The 560 troops of the Irish battalion, the longest-serving contingent in the nine nation UN Interim Force in Lebanon, will complete their tour of duty in Lebanon in October, Smith said at Camp Shamrock, their headquarters in the southern village of Tibnine.

During those years, the Irish troops and Lebanese people have formed an 'extraordinary bond', he said.

General Obeng said the Irish troops had 'a long and proud association' with Lebanon. The Irish troops were deployed in south Lebanon in March 1978 following an Israeli invasion of Lebanon - to verify Israel’s troop withdrawal and help restore peace and security in the area. The battalion has lost 45 soldiers in Lebanon.

One of the Irish peacekeepers, Private Kevin Joyce, has been missing since 1981 when he disappeared during a shoot-out between UN troops and guerrillas in south Lebanon. There has been no information on him.

Smith said Ireland was still trying to recover Joyce’s body before the troops’ departure.

"We’ve never lost hope ... We are extremely anxious to regain his body," he said.

With the verification of Israel’s withdrawal from south Lebanon last May, the UN Security Council unanimously agreed this year to reduce the peacekeeping force.