'Poignant' deployment of Irish soldiers as UN mission to wind down

Irish troops on parade at Camp Shamrock near the border with Lebanon and Israel. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

A ceremony held before the deployment of more than 300 Irish peacekeepers to south Lebanon was “poignant”, ahead of the mission’s end, the Tánaiste said.

Three hundred and sixty two Irish soldiers are to be deployed to south Lebanon from next week, as part of a peacekeeping mission of which Ireland has been a part for decades.

The United States and Israel wanted to have UN troops removed from the area next year. After negotiations, an extension to 2027 was agreed.

Speaking ahead of the latest deployment, Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris said that Ireland has “a very special place in our heart” for the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.

We will work very closely with the Lebanese armed forces in the next year to ensure that they're prepared and ready to take over that mission, so that's our primary focus for 2026

He said it was a day of mixed emotions for family and friends as they show their pride in their loved ones but also prepare for time apart.

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy said the soldiers were “fully prepared” for the mission and were being deployed in some “uncertainty”.

“We’ve had just under 50 years deployed with Unifil by the end of 2027, and a proud record and a legacy that the Irish nation and the Defence Forces have left in that area.

“I suppose our primary concern is for the safety and security of that region.

“We will work very closely with the Lebanese armed forces in the next year to ensure that they’re prepared and ready to take over that mission, so that’s our primary focus for 2026.”

He said Unifil had begun to look at what the wind down of the operation would look like.

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Lennon, commanding officer of the battalion to be deployed, who is being sent on his eighth deployment to Lebanon, said they were “very conscious of the volatility” in the area.

“We have great soldiers, and that was seen in our pre-deployment training, and our morale is high, but we’re conscious of the people we’re leaving behind, the families that are connected and, yes, the change in tempo overseas and then the volatility that exists in the Middle East.”

His daughter Caitlin, 12, and son Sean, 10 said they were proud of their father and would miss him.

Lt Col Lennon said it was “difficult” to be away from his family.

“It is really a mixed emotions. On the one front you’re looking forward and you’re preparing to deploy, and then you’re also very, very conscious of who you’re leaving behind.

“I spoke with the families prior to the parade here this morning and, in many ways, the medal we get at the end should be given to our families, because they’re the ones that have to stay behind and do the basic day to days of keeping a family and a household running.

“Particularly just as we’re approaching from next week, the Christmas decorations will be out, and we’ll be in deployment mode.”