'Support of loved ones allows us to do what we do'

This Thursday is a day Lt Col Mark Lennon is likely to remember for a long time to come. It will be the first Christmas Day that he'll spend in Lebanon, where he is serving as the officer in charge of the 360 or so Irish troops who are part of the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Middle East. Speaking to the Westmeath Independent, the Ballymahon native sent home season's greetings, on behalf of himself and his fellow troops, to the loved ones that they won't get to spend Christmas with this year.

"It's a privilege to be here but we remember the people at home that are allowing us to be here, and supporting us while we are here," said Lt Col Lennon.

"We'd love to send them warm Christmas greetings, because their sacrifice is as great as ours.

"They are at home, doing the daily grind, and we're out here doing our thing. We remember them fondly at this time and we appreciate the constant support that we receive from them and from the local community at home."

Many of the soldiers serving in Lebanon are from the Midlands, and the Christmas religious services at their Camp Shamrock base will be led by a well-known local figure, Fr Declan Shannon, who was based for many years in Coosan and is former parish administrator at St Mary's in Athlone. Lt Col Lennon was appointed in 2023 as the Officer Commanding the 6th Infantry Battalion and Officer Commanding Custume Barracks.

Early last month, his eighth tour of duty began when he travelled to Lebanon as head of the Defence Forces' 127th Infantry Battalion, now just over a month into its six-month peacekeeping mission.

Husband of Carmel Rooney, the deputy principal of An Grianán NS in Mount Temple, Lt Col Lennon is the father of Cadhla (13) and Sean (10), and he spoke about the difficulty of being away from his children at this time of year.

"They will miss me, and I'm sure my wife Carmel will as well, but they'll be surrounded by their aunts and uncles and cousins and grannies and granddads, so it's comforting to know that too."

A resident of Milltown, Rathconrath, he said his usual Christmas routine would include spending time in his native Ballymahon, where his parents, Jimmy and Rita, are based. He said Christmas will be quite active in Camp Shamrock, but a big meal is planned on the day itself which will attempt to replicate the Christmas dinner at home in Ireland.

"It will be a busy day," he said. "We're planning a fun run for charity on Christmas morning. We are conscious that we have people on the two outposts as well, who are somewhat disconnected from the camp here, but we will more than likely have made visits to them on Christmas Eve.

"There will be Mass then in the chapel here. On Christmas Eve, there will be a dinner with our Polish (peacekeeping) brethren, because the Christmas Eve dinner is the big one in Poland.

"Then we'll have our Christmas lunch which will, as much as possible, try to replicate what we would have back at home. The Defence Forces have been very good to us - we'll have an additional budget to really make that a feast for all the soldiers here in the base."

The potential risks of serving in a volatile part of the world were underlined earlier this month when gunmen attacked Irish UN peacekeepers who were on patrol in the south of the country,

A patrol of six Irish troops was fired upon during the incident. Thankfully there were no injuries.

Lt Col Lennon acknowledged that there was a feeling of shock in the aftermath of an incident which was condemned by Defence Minister Helen McEntee.

"On the evening in question, our troops performed particularly well," he said. "They followed all of their predeployment training, and executed their drills exceptionally well. They returned to base safe and sound.

"There was a level of shock with the incident, because it was not in keeping with previous events over the past months in the area.

"It was what we would describe as an isolated incident, albeit a very serious one. We hope and don’t foresee that it would become a regular occurrence in our area of operations."

He said an internal review of the incident had been completed and that the matter was being investigated by the Lebanese Army and the military police.

"There were some arrests made in relation to the investigation, and that’s where it’s at at the moment."

Notwithstanding the recent incident, he said morale among the Irish troops was currently very high.

"We have a very good recreation and welfare programme, so a lot of personnel engage in physical fitness training and activities here," he explained.

"The highlights of the recreation and welfare programme are probably the bingo and quiz nights, and then the various different availability of sporting events here. We have very good WiFi and internet access for all troops, which is a real plus for the Defence Forces.

"For Christmas we have a number of places decorated with Christmas lights, and our troops are looking forward to their Christmas welfare packages being sent out, which the Defence Forces have organised for us.

"There are local Christian villages, and various different villages having Christmas markets and Christmas events, be it carol services or local Masses, that we will attend.

"Our battalion chaplain, Fr Declan Shannon, will be busy preparing for the Christmas Mass on the outposts, and then also in the base here in Camp 245, Camp Shamrock."

He described the pastoral support Fr Declan offers to the troops in Lebanon as invaluable.

"He provides exceptionally good assistance to all of us, both to those who are religious, because we have daily Mass here, and Mass every Sunday that’s well-attended, but he’s also very, very important in terms of pastoral care."

He said Fr Declan was always ready to support those who might be dealing with the aftermath of a bereavement at home or other difficulties in their lives.

"He’s very, very capable and useful when it comes to dealing with those types of issues. And he’s great support for the personnel that we have here in camp on a daily basis."

Lt Col Lennon added that, among the 360 or so Irish troops, a leave rotation group of more than 60 have the opportunity to take leave and travel home for the big day.

"That enables some of our troops to get back to their family and friends for Christmas," he said.

"In general, morale is really, really high. We have a really good team and they’re all pulling together and working together which, from my point of view, as commander, is very pleasing."

He said the ethos of the troops revolved around three main tenets: standards, teamwork and ownership.

"We had those tenets in our pre-deployment training in Ireland, and we’ve continued that into the mission here," he stated.

"We’re a full team together, the 360 Irish, and we work with Polish, Maltese and Hungarian counterparts.

“The team element is very important. Everyone matters, at all ranks, and our strength lies in unity."

The 127th Infantry Battalion will be returning home at the end of the current mission, in late May.

The soldiers look set to be among the last Irish troops to serve in Lebanon, with the UN peacekeeping mission there scheduled to end in 2027.