Irish Examiner view: Military appointment a milestone for gender equality

Major General Maureen O'Brien is the first female officer in the history of the State to reach the rank of Major General

Major General Maureen O'Brien has served with peacekeeping missions in various positions from a platoon commander up to de facto commander of the entire UN force in the Golan Heights.

The appointment of Major General Maureen O’Brien as the first woman to the second-highest rank in the Defence Forces marks a milestone for gender equality and will, hopefully, inspire other women to consider a career in the Irish military. 

Her promotion to a rank second only to the Chief of Staff, ahead of her appointment as a United Nations military adviser in New York, marks a great day for mná na hÉireann. 

However it also exposes the overall small proportion of females serving in the army, naval service and air corps.

Women make up in the region of 7% of the Defence Forces even though, in the context of Ireland’s peacekeeping role in conflict zones, the disproportionate impact of conflict on women is notable.

Irish peacekeepers are present in more than half of the UN’s current peacekeeping operations, from Mali to Lebanon, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Cyprus — an extraordinary record for a small country — and Maj Gen O’Brien has been central to that effort in recent years.

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She has served with peacekeeping missions in various positions from a platoon commander up to de facto commander of the entire UN force in the Golan Heights. 

She will now serve as one of two military advisers to the UN secretary general on peacekeeping operations.

Maj Gen O’Brien deserves our congratulations on her promotion, and our thanks for her service. We salute you.