At a lunch in Collins Barracks on Monday, the Minister for Defence, Michael Smith, officially welcomed two initiatives which celebrate the Defence Forces. The first is an exhibition which marks 40 years of Irish involvement in the UN peacekeeping forces - indeed the day the exhibition opened coincided almost to the day with the departure of the first Irish troops to the Lebanon in 1958. Stuffed full with original artefacts, models, military vehicles and videos, the exhibition is also a chance for the Veterans' Association to go on duty again - members will be on hand during the exhibition to answer questions. The Minister also outlined plans for a new commemorative medal for defence forces personnel killed in action overseas. Those attending the lunch included Dr Patrick Wallace of the National Museum; Lieut Col Gerry McMahon, the Army Chief Of Staff; Colonel Mortimer Buckley, who led the first troops into the Congo in 1960; Capt Dan Harvey from the Collins Barracks Military Museum in Cork, who curated the exhibition with Paul Doyle from the National Museum; Barry Murphy of the OPW; RTE presenter Gerry Ryan and Barbara Dawson of the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery.