My articles have featured in An Cosantóir, Emergency Services Ireland, Contact, and SIGNAL magazines.
As I am an accredited Defence Forces Military Journalist, they are produced in conjunction with, and with the approval of, the Defence Forces and Naval Service Press Office, where appropriate. Articles first published in print, in An Cosantóir for example, appear here only after the issue they ran in has been replaced by the next edition.
I also share them on LinkedIn, where they are published in full.
All articles
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The EU, Irish Defence Forces and Contemporary Security
I have contributed a chapter on Irish civil-military industrial relations and European military trade unionism to The EU, Irish Defence Forces and Contemporary Security, an edited volume from Palgrave Macmillan.
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Corvette echoes
In Block 6 on Haulbowline hangs the ship’s wheel of LÉ Maev, once HMS Oxlip, with a 1971 poem by Lt Cdr Paddy Kavanagh beneath it. A look at the…
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Making a Living Podcast
Lt Cdr Niamh Ní Fhatharta and I joined Brendan Fitzgerald’s Making a Living podcast to talk about careers in the Irish Naval Service: entry routes, education, skills, and what life…
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75 Years of Service
From bringing Yeats home in 1948 to the Marita Ann, Air India 182, the loss of Leading Seaman Michael Quinn, the cocaine trail, the Mediterranean, and COVID-19: a look back…
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The Fate of the PVs
They were the ships on which a generation of sailors came of age. Built in Cobh for hard work in Irish waters, the Naval Service’s patrol vessels DEIRDRE, EMER, AOIFE,…
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Remember those who served
Óglaigh Náisiúnta na hÉireann (ÓNE) has supported Irish veterans since 1951. Incoming President Dermot Higgins on the Cobh branch, the new veterans’ hostel, the Fuchsia Collection, and a life at…
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Naval Service variant DPM
I co-authored an article in An Cosantóir (March/April 2021) on the new Naval Service variant DPM, a project I worked on for several years while serving with FORST.
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An Cosantóir – 80th Volume 1940-2020
The new electronic edition of An Cosantóir, marking the magazine’s 80th volume, is out now and includes part 1 of my article on the Fleet Support Group of the Irish…
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Fill Your Books!
In August 2020 I took part in a micro-interview for Fill Your Books!, Colin Dardis’s blog where writers and creatives talk about some of their favourite books. Find out more…
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Irish League of Credit Unions #PoweredByPeople campaign: Community Heroes – Defence Forces
The Irish League of Credit Unions featured me in its #PoweredByPeople Community Heroes campaign, talking about keeping the Naval Service’s RHIB fleet ready and how the Defence Forces pulled together…
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Walk for the Dogs
Former French Foreign Legionnaire Dermot Cosgrove planned a 600km solo trek across Iceland in July 2019 to fund an assistance dog for Irish Dogs for the Disabled.
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Cork City Missing Persons Search and Recovery Unit
The loss of a loved one is one of the most tragic experiences which can befall a family. In Cork, a dedicated team of volunteers has provided hundreds of families…
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Ever Present Danger
Every sailor onboard an Irish warship is a firefighter. Inside the Advanced Marine Damage Control and Fire Fighting course at the NMCI, where Naval Service crews train for the ever-present…
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Something in the Water
There must be something in the water that nourishes writers on this Great Island of ours. Trish Carlos, Dr Michael Martin, Michelle Dunne, Glenn Kavanagh, and Trevor Laffan on why…
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Cogadh na Saoirse: Ar Muir is ar Tír
In 1919 the war to end all wars was over, but Ireland’s was beginning. While most of the fighting happened on land, the Royal Navy’s command of the sea shaped…
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Contact Magazine: Australia’s Military News
In June 2018 I welcomed CONTACT editor Brian Hartigan and his wife Rosie to Haulbowline. Brian had published my award-winning article on rebuilding Somalia, and the couple brought a gift…
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European Naval Operations in the Mediterranean
From Pontus to Sophia: how the Naval Service moved from humanitarian search and rescue off Libya to its first armed overseas peace support operation with EUNAVFOR Med, and what Operation…
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Muscle and Blood
LÉ SAMUEL BECKETT is a fine ship, but without a crew she is only steel, cable, and fuel. Four young sailors from across the Naval Service’s branches describe the work,…
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Changing of the Watch
In the days of sail, the ship’s bell would ring out the passing of time and signal the change of the watch. That bell has pealed on Haulbowline: Commodore Hugh…
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Nuestra Señora de Gardotza, January 30th 1990
On the night of 30 January 1990, Leading Seaman Michael Quinn and Able Seaman Paul Kellett of LÉ DEIRDRE put to sea in a small Gemini in a severe gale…
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Cobh: The Gateway to Munster
Cobh looks out over Cork Harbour where the Lee runs down to meet the sea: a town of liners, forts, and history. Its real treasure is its people, and their…
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Shipshape and Ready for Action
Mission Readiness Evaluation and Training (MRET) onboard LÉ EITHNE, 2017. How the Naval Service’s FORST team sets the standards, trains the crews, and proves a ship’s operational capability before it…
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Rebuilding Somalia: The Sea is Their Future
Somalia has the longest coastline on mainland Africa and in the Middle East. Rebuilding the country means making the sea safe to fish, farm, and trade across. Irishman Chris Reynolds,…
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Vickers Petters Engine Restoration
Haulbowline Island, located in the second largest natural harbour in the world, is a place of rich history. Tucked away in an unassuming corner of a disused building, a rare…
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Birthday Salute to the Naval Service
On the 1st of September, the Naval Service slips into another year and goes about its duties with the same quiet professionalism it has always had. A look back at…
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Life after the Defence Forces
Charting a new course: The Defence Forces represents a career and a lifestyle like no other. It affords great opportunities with great challenges as well. The military ethos with its…
Where these were published
An Cosantóir
An Cosantóir is the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces. First published in 1940, it provides accurate and timely information about Defence Forces operations and policies to its members, their families, and interested parties worldwide. A typical issue may contain articles dealing with new equipment, training, overseas service, unit and individual achievements, international military affairs, military history, sport, and much more.
Emergency Services Ireland
Emergency Services Ireland provides a platform for the state and voluntary emergency services to highlight their initiatives and projects, with contributions from national and international practitioners and profiles of those at the front line of pre-hospital and emergency care. It is circulated to personnel across An Garda Síochána, the Fire Services, the HSE Ambulance Service, the Defence Forces, the Irish Prison Service, the Irish Coast Guard, Mountain Rescue, Civil Defence, and the Irish Red Cross.
Contact: Air, Land and Sea
Contact is an independent, veteran-owned Australian publisher that curates a daily blog, a fortnightly newsletter, and a quarterly magazine. It reports on the people, platforms, and operations of the world’s defence forces, presenting stories, photos, and video that capture serving members’ lives, as far as possible in their own words.
SIGNAL
RACO began publishing SIGNAL in newspaper format in the early 1990s and redesigned it as a magazine in 2002. It is a forum in which Defence Forces issues, particularly those affecting managerial ranks, can be raised and discussed in the public domain by members, and it goes to all RACO members, the Oireachtas, Irish MEPs, military attachés, and public and academic libraries.
