![\"Minister](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/00244a6d-614.jpg\"\/)
\nMinister Helen McEntee addresses the 128th Infantry Battalion at Sarsfield Barracks<\/p>\n
The families of peacekeepers gathered for a ministerial review of the 128th Infantry Battalion at Sarsfield Barracks in Limerick ahead of its deployment to Lebanon with UNIFIL next month.<\/p>\n
It will be the last rotation of the current UNIFIL mission after five decades of Irish Defence Forces personnel engaging in peacekeeping missions in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
It will be the first mission for 120 of the 344 peacekeepers who will be deployed to the Middle East in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Minister for Defence, Helen McEntee paid tribute to Regimental Sergeant Major Paul O’Meara who is embarking on his 19th tour of duty.<\/p>\n
The minister acknowledged the challenging security environment in southern Lebanon and reaffirmed the Government\u2019s commitment to the safety and welfare of troops serving overseas.<\/p>\n
“I am fully conscious of the fragile and challenging security situation in southern Lebanon,” Minister McEntee said. “I want to assure personnel and their families that safety and wellbeing remain paramount.”<\/p>\n
“As this mission draws towards its conclusion, the importance of Ireland\u2019s contribution has never been more pronounced. The 128th Infantry Battalion have been entrusted with helping bring a distinguished chapter of Irish peacekeeping in Lebanon to a close, while continuing to support peace and stability at a vital moment.”<\/p>\n
\nMinister Helen McEntee addresses the 128th Infantry Battalion at Sarsfield Barracks<\/p>\n
The minister also paid tribute to the families of personnel for their support, and reaffirmed the Government\u2019s commitment to providing ongoing welfare, communication, and support services throughout the deployment.<\/p>\n
Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy, Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, also acknowledged the seriousness of the security situation in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
“The situation in southern Lebanon remains tense and highly volatile. Our personnel are deploying into a complex and challenging operational environment with the United Nation\u2019s Interim Force in Lebanon. Despite these challenges, today is a day of immense pride for the members of the 128th Infantry Battalion and \u00d3glaigh na h\u00c9ireann.”<\/p>\n
He said he has every confidence in the training and professionalism of the personnel.<\/p>\n
“They represent the very best of the Irish Defence Forces and are fully equipped to carry out their mission with distinction.<\/p>\n
“I want to thank the families of our personnel for their continued support and I wish the 128th Infantry Battalion every success as they deploy on behalf of Ireland in support of international peace and security.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The families of peacekeepers gathered for a ministerial review of the 128th Infantry Battalion at Sarsfield Barracks in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-422918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}