The end of a long week. I was reflecting on the transition from service, especially given the extraordinary display of skill and commitment by the Defence Forces, and the Joint Task Force this week. The Army, Naval Service, Air Corps, and Army Ranger Wing in particular to the fore in an arduous, complex, and important... Continue Reading →
If you're in #Dublin tomorrow evening & have an interest in the Defence Forces & contemporary security policy, the book launch of 'The EU, Irish Defence Forces and Contemporary Security’, will be held at the Royal Irish Academy on the 27th of July, starting at 6:30 pm.With an address by Tánaiste Michael Martin TD and Noelle O... Continue Reading →
At 2359hrs, I officially retire from permanent service with An tSeirbhís Chabhlaigh after 25 years, 3 months, and 3 days. Thank you to my wonderful family for everything they have endured over the years of my service. It is your love, strength, and support which makes all things possible. To my comrades and colleagues, and... Continue Reading →
“The EU, Irish Defence Forces, and Contemporary Security”, Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming 2022.Jonathan Carroll, Mark Williams & Matthew O’Neill. (Editors) Jonathan Carroll, Mark Williams, and Matthew O’Neill are co-editors of this new edited volume on the Irish Defence Forces entitled “The EU, Irish Defence Forces, and Contemporary Security.” It shall be published by Palgrave Macmillan in... Continue Reading →
I had the great pleasure to take part in the Making a Living Podcast with Brendan Fitzgerald. On Brendan's own YouTube channel you'll find this information: "MAKING A LIVING WITH BRENDAN FITZGERALD", THE PREMISE - Choosing the right path for our future is never easy and the more insights we can gain from people who... Continue Reading →
Reproduced here with the kind permission of the Editor of An Cosantóir, this is my article which featured in Special Commemorative Edition on the occasion of the Naval Service 75th Anniversary. The celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Naval Service is a milestone in the long and rich history of service. No celebration could... Continue Reading →
Reproduced here with the kind permission of the Editor of An Cosantóir, this is my article which featured in Special Commemorative Edition on the occasion of the Naval Service 75th Anniversary. They were the ships onboard which a generation of sailors came of age, and they lead the way for others to follow. Built in... Continue Reading →
Twelve feet above the deck,The smell can make you gag,Five hundred salt water soaked,Unwashed humans in forty degrees, Make a few bad jokes to cover up your shame,That your stomach churned at scabies riddled teenager,Sunglasses will hide guilty eyes,To mask your revulsion, Overcompensate later by giving an extra ration,To a brown-eyed child,Draped from shoulder to... Continue Reading →
“It is important that we remember what brings us together – what interest we have in common. It is quite simply the common bond of past service in Ireland in her armed forces. We are old comrades in arms wishing to maintain and strengthen old associations and traditions.” Lieutenant General Michael Joe Costello
On the day in summer when the old man warms his bones,Stretching idle legs on Sean Walsh park benches,Mimicking the patient heron balanced in the water,First one and then the other, pop, ease and crack,The light will be thrown off at an angle, just right. Soft tones glow, wrap warm around the moment,Drawing a long... Continue Reading →
On the 21st day of September, On the International Day of Peace, Conflicts rage across the planet, People die from twenty-cent Czech bullets, Five-yuan Chinese machetes, Two-hundred-ruble Belarusian boots, Six-hundred-dollar vigilante assault rifles, And one-hundred-and-seventy-thousand-dollar bombs, A response to headlines screaming terror, Yet poverty culls far more, But that cannot fuel the industry, So demagogues... Continue Reading →
Nomad. Dancing in the shade of a warship, miles from anywhere, a weary little nomad, alighting to take refuge on the dark grey timber, worn out and staggering, Rest, be at peace, staring fascinated, remembering in the haze of this beautiful dusk, past summers spent at home, Lying in the rough grass, lost in the... Continue Reading →
Paper Never Refused Ink! 
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