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(This article is produced by our Gaeltacht team. You can read an English version of this piece here)
SOLDIERS IN THE Defence Forces currently on UN duty in Lebanon have received training from comrades who have just returned from peacekeeping missions in the fragile region, the commanding officer of the Military College on the Curragh has said.
Colonel Seán Ó Fátharta was speaking on Adhmhaidin (RTÉ Ráidió na Gaeltachta) on Thursday about the dangers Irish soldiers are operating under as a result of the war being waged by the United States and Israel on Iran, a conflict which is spreading to Lebanon and other countries in the Middle East.
Colonel Ó Fátharta said there was no doubt that the Irish soldiers and their Polish comrades were in danger because they were on duty in an area that Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed paramilitary forces in Lebanon, calls ‘the heart of the revolution’.
“It must be said that there is danger,” he said. “At the moment it is dangerous but as you know, we have the training and the equipment to be able to stay safe and sound.”
In recent days, Hizbollah has, in support of Iran, launched attacks on Israeli forces while the IDF has been bombing southern Beirut, having told civilians to evacuate that part of the Lebanese capital.
The risk to Irish UNIFIL soldiers arises from the danger they might be caught in crossfire between the Israelis and Hizbollah.
He also said that the UN peacekeeping forces maintained good communication with the Lebanese Army and, at UNIFIL headquarters, with the Israeli Army.
Responding to a question about the state of international law following the US and Israeli attack on Iran, Colonel Ó Fátharta said that it was a cause for concern.
“It is certainly a cause for concern for everyone and for every country if that era of international law has ended.”
He said, however, that Irish soldiers had received the training that would prepare them to survive that danger.
“In terms of the Irish battalion that is in southern Lebanon this morning, they have the self-discipline, they have the resilience, they have the training to keep themselves safe and to be there.”
He said that some of the training they have received stems from the experiences he and other soldiers who served in Lebanon had before them.
“They have the training to keep themselves safe and to carry out operations as mandated by the UN Security Council resolution, resolution 1701.”
He said that he himself was on duty with the UN peacekeeping forces between May and December 2024 and that he and his comrades had learned a lot there.
“When we came home in December 2024, the lessons we learned and the things we did well and the things we didn’t do so well, we applied it to the training for the battalion that was going out in May 2025,” the colonel said.
“The training was very intense, very rigorous and based on lessons we learned in 2024 – so when you hear our spokesperson say we have the training, that’s what he means when he says that.”
Ó Fátharta also gave an overview of the area where the Irish soldiers were operating.
“It’s about sixty kilometers from the Mediterranean to the Syrian border and then north from the Blue Line to the Litani River. It’s about twenty-five kilometers and the Irish battalion is located in the area to the west of the UNIFIL area.
“There are five battalions in that area in a classic military formation three battalions in front of the Blue Line and two Battalions behind supporting the battalions that are on the Blue Line and there is an Irish/Polish battalion.”
Ó Fátharta was of the opinion that the fighting could continue for another week or two as it had only been a week since the attacks on Iran began even though they were up against the US, the most armed force in the world, and Israel, who also had a lot of weapons.
“That’s not a very long distance, so I would say there is another week or two that they can have activities against Israel and against the country that is around them that is supporting America and America especially again.”
He also said that Iran could provoke attacks from forces such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Hamas in Gaza and expressed his view that the US would hardly be interested in sending troops into the country due to the current turmoil.
“I don’t think America is interested in putting troops on the ground, it would be a kind of air war, a missile war, a drone war.”
He acknowledged that a lot of damage had been done to the Iranian leadership after the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei along with the deaths of many other senior officials but that there would be others who would put their hands up to take their places.
“As usual with things like this, there are people who are willing to step up and take the next step in terms of leadership in these organisations, I would say.
“That unease will be there for a while.”
The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
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