Ireland prepares final Lebanon peacekeeping contingent as withdrawal approaches
About 300 Irish soldiers are preparing to deploy to southern Lebanon in November, with the country's UN peacekeeping force due to leave by next Easter.
Ireland is preparing to send about 300 soldiers to southern Lebanon in November 2026 for its final planned peacekeeping contingent there, according to RTÉ. The deployment comes before the end of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon's mandate on 31 December and a planned Irish withdrawal by next Easter.
Lieutenant Colonel Cormac Brady, who will command the contingent, told RTÉ's This Week that the mission was ‘very poignant’ and ‘very difficult’ for Defence Forces members. He said those deploying would remember Private Seán Rooney, killed by Hezbollah members in 2022 according to RTÉ, and the other Irish soldiers who died while serving in Lebanon.
Irish troops' final deployment to southern Lebanon
Brady said his primary focus would be force protection. He described the Irish area of operations as recently quite calm but volatile, with the potential for direct or indirect fire from Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces. Irish personnel can currently move through the area and continue to occupy two outposts on the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel, he said.
The final deployment follows decades of Irish service in UNIFIL. The Irish Defence Forces' current-missions account says the UN force was established in 1978 and describes Irish service at posts along the Blue Line.
RTÉ puts total Irish participation since 1978 at more than 30,000 troops and the number of Irish soldiers who have died at 48. Brady said Rooney's death was particularly personal because he had commanded the battalion to which Rooney belonged.
Withdrawal target and the Irish bases
Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister Helen McEntee has said the Irish force will leave Lebanon entirely by next Easter, RTÉ reported. Lieutenant Colonel James Hourigan, the Defence Forces' deputy director for logistics, called that target ambitious but achievable for both troops and equipment. He said planning had begun and the withdrawal would involve several phases.
No decision has been made on what will happen to the Irish bases. Hourigan said officials were discussing the handover with UNIFIL staff in Lebanon and at UN headquarters in New York.
Asked about opportunities to serve abroad after the Lebanon mission ends, Brady said the Defence Forces' smaller overseas missions would continue. Hourigan said the forces stood ready to support any government decision on future deployments.
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Sources and context
- Final Irish peacekeeping mission to Lebanon 'poignant'RTÉ
- Current MissionsIrish Defence Forces
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