Irish soldiers are getting very experienced at pulling out of overseas missions.
Last year, it wound down its contribution of 133 troops to the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission on the Golan Heights in Syria, a process which involved a huge logistical operation. Prior to that, it ended its smaller contributions to UN missions in Congo, Western Sahara and Mali.
Those operations will pale in comparison to the upcoming withdrawal of Irish troops from southern Lebanon with the conclusion of the Unifil peacekeeping mission there.
Last month, under pressure from the US and Israel which want the mission terminated, the UN Security Council agreed to extend Unifil’s mandate for another year before finally ending its presence in the region in 2027.
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Even before that, Unifil’s operations are likely to be significantly curtailed by a 15 per cent budget cut necessitated by a lack of funding for peacekeeping operations.
The Irish withdrawal will be overseen by an “joint operational planning group”, Defence Forces chief of staff Lieut Gen Rossa Mulcahy said during a visit to the mission this week.
“It’ll look at all the elements. It will look at the operations piece, it’ll look at the logistics piece and it’ll look at the infrastructure piece.
“It’s early doors yet,” he says, adding that final timeline for withdrawal will likely not be known until the second half of 2026.
Withdrawing from Syria involved cataloguing 280,000 pieces of equipment and transporting it in convoy over one of the most dangerous land borders in the world into Lebanon.
[ ‘We were raised up with the Irish since 1978, and suddenly they are pulling out’Opens in new window ]
The Unifil withdrawal will dwarf that endeavour. The sprawling Irish camp at Post 2-45 will have to be dismantled piece by piece and loaded onto trucks. This includes the many memorials dotted around the camp to the 48 Irish soldiers who have died in Lebanon. The most recent death is that of Sean Rooney, who was killed in an ambush in 2022 while travelling to Beirut.
Just securing this enormous convoy as it travels north will be an enormous challenge.
An even bigger challenge is what comes next. Unifil has been a cornerstone of the Defence Forces for many years. In some ways, the design of the Irish military as a light infantry force with some mechanised elements, is tailor made for the mission.
Service there is vital for promotion. The additional pay and opportunities it offers are also critical for retention and recruitment of personnel. One soldier has 22 tours under his belt, the equivalent of 11 years spent in country.
The timing of the withdrawal could hardly be worse. Defence Forces numbers have only just started to stabilise at around 7,500 after years of decline. And the Government has committed to growing its size to 10,500 by 2028.
The world is a very unstable place, so there will be other missions that the Government may ask us to participate in
— Lieut Gen Rossa Mulcahy
Lieut Gen Mulcahy says he does not think the loss of Unifil will affect recruitment. “People don’t just join to go overseas,” he says. “People join because they want to become soldiers, sailors and aircrew.”
He concedes it may have an impact on retention, however. “There is an opportunity [with overseas service] to earn money and progress your military career. But the world is a very unstable place, so there will be other missions that the Government may ask us to participate in.”
One of those missions may be in Ukraine, should international peacekeepers be sent in once the war ends. Another may be Gaza, given the recently tenuous ceasefire agreed last week. Would the Defence Forces be able to undertake missions in such unstable areas?
“Hypothetically, I can say yes. But it’s the practicality of ‘what is the mission?’ Is it a land one? Is there something for the Air Corps or Air Force of the future, or the Navy,” says Lieut Gen Mulcahy.
Lieut Gen also repeatedly stresses the primary focus of the Defence Forces is to defend the nation. In recent years, the military has shed many of its “aide to the civil power/ authority” roles, such as guarding Portlaoise prison and escorting cash vans.
Most of its senior leadership seem to view this as a positive which will free up soldiers for actual soldiering.
Withdrawal from Lebanon will offer a chance for a “reset” and allow the Defence Forces to “focus on national defence”, the chief of staff says.
“We have a big task next year with [hosting the EU] presidency, That’s going to draw on our resources across all three services.”
There is also the possibility that Irish troops may remain in south Lebanon in some capacity.
Many believe French forces are unlikely to leave the area once the mission ends. A successor mission may take place under the banner of the EU. But it is unlikely to get a UN mandate. The United States, a permanent member of the Security Council, would veto such a move.
This is where the triple lock, which prevents more than 12 Irish troops serving overseas without a UN mandate, raises its head. As it stands, Ireland could not serve in any substantial capacity with a Unifil successor, or indeed any other peacekeeping mission, without a UN mandate.
The coalition wants to abolish the triple-lock but legislation remains stalled and there is strong opposition to the move from nearly every other party.
The international community wants to train up the Lebanese Armed Forces to take over the role of Unifil, including disarming Hizbullah and monitoring the Blue Line, the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon.
We see Merkavas [Israeli tanks]. We’d also see drones above camp on a daily basis
— Lieut Marcus O’Byrne
However, there are serious doubts about whether Lebanese forces will be up to the task by the time Irish troops leave. Lebanese troops lack modern equipment and training and often go long periods without being paid due to the country’s dire economic situation.
There are also questions about how they will react to inevitable provocation by Israeli forces.
As well as its main base, Irish troops man a small outpost, at mission position 6-52, right on the Blue Line. Israeli positions, including one on Lebanese territory, are visible a few hundred metres away.
The troops in 6-52 are on high alert. Body armour and helmets are worn at all times while out in the open and soldiers can’t even jog around the base. When the chief of staff visited on Thursday for a medal ceremony, he pinned the medals to the soldiers’ ballistic vests.
The soldiers are used to provocations from Israel.
“We’d have quad copters and artillery in the AO [area of operations]. So it has been busy,” says the post commander Lieut Marcus O’Byrne. “We see Merkavas [Israeli tanks]. We’d also see drones above camp on a daily basis.”
[ Support for triple lock slips, but most still favour keeping itOpens in new window ]
Recent incidents include stun grenades being dropped near Irish troops while they were guarding locals involved in construction work and Israeli soldiers firing rounds close to Irish personnel.
Israeli forces have also pointed the laser sighting systems of their rifles at Irish troops on patrol.
Technically, under Irish rules of engagement, the soldiers would have been warranted in responding with deadly force. After all, people were pointing weapons at them and indicating a preparedness to use them.
However, Irish troops are trained to de-escalate and withdraw from the area in such circumstances. The question is, will Lebanese troops be able to show the same restraint? If not, another war is all but inevitable.
