Oral Histories Project (20th Century)

Stories from overseas

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REGIONTEST ONLINE COLLECTIONS / Oral Histories Project

ONLINE COLLECTIONS / Oral Histories Project (20th Century) / Stories from overseas

Overview

The collection includes direct testimony from interviewees who served in the Congo, Lebanon, Cyprus, Chad and in other overseas missions as part of United Nations and European Union missions.

IE MA MAC 006 MAOHP 0018 AC 029 p3 Cropped

'Etched in Blood' Khiam 2006

Kevin McDonald

El Khiam

Michael walsh

'Is this it?'

Michael Walsh

Lebanon

IE MA MAC 006 MAOHP 0048 AC 113 p1 e1543839114828

'I didn't know where South Lebanon was'

Viv Collins

Tibnin

Séamus Mc Dermott Corporal retired

'It was just an adventure I suppose'

Seamus McDermott

Custume Barracks, Congo

Featured People

The MAOHP has interviewed a broad range of people, primarily veterans and serving members of the Defence Forces, but also family members and individuals who have worked together with Irish military personnel at home and overseas.

IE MA MAC 006 MAOHP 0018 AC 029 p3 Cropped

Kevin McDonald

Commandant Kevin McDonald served 7 years with Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil (FCA) and 33 years with the Permanent Defence Forces. He discusses his military career, focusing on his extensive service overseas. Most of his interview relates to his service in Lebanon and he speaks about the 2006 Lebanon War when he was serving with Observer Group Lebanon (OGL). He speaks about the deaths of some of his United Nations Military Observer colleagues at an OGL patrol base at El Khiam during that war.
IE MA MAC 006 MAOHP 0048 AC 113 p1 e1543839114828

Viv Collins

Sergeant Viv Collins enlisted the Defence Forces in 1972. He was serving as a Fitter Sergeant in Base Workshops in Clancy Barracks when he retired from the Defence Forces in 1995. He was interviewed for Military Archives Oral History Project in the Air Corps Museum in Baldonnel on 10 November 2017.
Michael walsh

Michael Walsh

Michael Walsh, Commandant (retired), served with the Reserve, Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil (FCA), before joining the Cadet School in the Military College in 1976. During his military career he served in the Artillery Corps and with the Military Police Corps. In 1994 he was seconded to GOAL and worked as a logistics officer in a refugee camp in Goma during the Rwandan genocide. He went to the Lebanon with the 57th Infantry Battalion in 1995 and worked in Sarajevo, Bosnia in 2009. At the time of his retirement from the Defence Forces in 2012 he was serving as Aide de Camp (ADC) to President Michael D. Higgins. Comdt Walsh was interviewed for the Military Archives Oral History Project on 7th February 2017.
Séamus Mc Dermott Corporal retired

Seamus McDermott

Séamus McDermott, Corporal (retired), enlisted in the Defence Forces in 1957 and trained in the Army Apprentice School in Devoy Barracks, Naas where he qualified as a carpenter and joiner. After his apprenticeship he served with 4th Field Company, Corps of Engineers in Custume Barracks, Athlone. He volunteered for service overseas and in June 1961 he went to the Congo with the 35th Infantry Battalion. He took part in Operations Rampunch and Morthor and was part of Force Kane, the attempted relief of Irish prisoners at Jadotville. Cpl McDermott served in the Defence Forces until September 1962 and after his military service he worked as a woodwork teacher and guidance counsellor. He was interviewed for the Military Archives Oral History Project on 13th October 2016.
Fr Jerry Jeremiah Carroll

Jerry Carroll

Fr Jerry (Jeremiah) Carroll was ordained in 1989. His early service was in the parishes of Evander and Pomeroy in the Diocese of Dundee in South Africa. He spent 17 years working in South Africa before returning to Ireland. In 2005 he joined the Defence Forces and became Chaplain to the Air Corps in Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel. He served overseas with the first Irish Finnish Battalion, 35th Infantry Group in Lebanon in 2006. He has also served with the 97th Infantry Battalion in Chad and the 45th Infantry Group in Lebanon. At the time of his interview he was preparing for his next trip to Lebanon with the 109th Infantry Battalion. Fr Carroll was interviewed for the Military Archives Oral History Project on 20th September 2016.
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Overview

The collection includes direct testimony from interviewees who served in the Congo, Lebanon, Cyprus, Chad and in other overseas missions as part of United Nations and European Union missions.

Chad from military ie

Chad
MA 086 061

Congo
MA 055 429

Kosovo
Michael Walsh 2025 02 18 130350 nalr

Rwanda
South Africa

South Africa
45 Inf Bn UNIFIL 2025 02 18 125528 huqh

UNIFIL
UNTSO from military ie

UNTSO

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