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THERE IS A new addition to the Dáil day with a 30-second moment of reflection to precede the beginning of business each day.
The prayer which has always been said at the start of the day is to be retained although there has been campaigning from some politicians to get rid of this.
Are you glad that the Dáil prayer is being kept?
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“Are you going to be armed?” Great question. Not much good sending an army to a war zone with their lads in their hands now is there?
There’s plenty of unarmed observer missions on the go; it was a valid question.
This is not an unarmed observer mission though.
This is already known.
So it was a stupid question.
Joey Joe ur an argumentative weed
Given the general level of disinterest & lack of knowledge the public has when it comes to the Defence Forces, it mightn’t have been well known.
There’s no such thing as a stupid question just stupid answers
Ah jeez,what a stupid question,are you going you be armed,what next,will you have to ask someone that is about to put a bullet in you to produce their firearm certificate first.
Is there 10 days in a week? I’d say that’s a pretty stupid question.
Nelly, I think you mixed that saying up. Isn’t it “There are no stupid questions, just stupid people”?
Safe tour of duty to all concerned .
Best of luck on this dodgy mission lads
They could have had plenty of dodgey missions in the north, they chose not to, they ran away.
Me and you clarke, handball alley, 1400hrs, we will see who runs away, big man behind an egg.
a coward wants to fight an Irishman….lmao, i’d embarrass you in front of everyone in your café.
Tom having read most of this thread I note that you have yet to inform us of your brave deeds in the north…
So you’d have to be cowardly to want to fight an Irishman? Ok
FYI, armies don’t choose their own missions – governments do. When the army starts deciding policy you have a military dictatorship
Café??
Safe trip boys & girls!
pity the handball alley isnt used as much as it should. some of the gombean people making gombean comments need a visit to the alley.
@ tom just so you know i know dave o shea he is a top quality bloke quality morals and would not even break a sweat dealing with you
Irish soldiers are among the best in the world.
Eh?
Blah blah blah… another gobsh*te living in the past. (yawn)
I live in the present but I am very much aware of what the free state army did, which is to say that they aided the brits in their slaughter of irish innocents.
Tom shut the hell up and stop flooding the thread with rubbish that is irrelevant to the story. Your an obvious troll, you wanted the Irish army to invade NI. Your heads only use seems to be as some form of hat stand.
what I say is not irrelevant, people are saying that these soldiers are brave because they are going to Syria to have tea and biscuits.
I’m saying that they were too cowardly to go north in case they were shot at.
No, they are not going up north because there is absolutely no need to. Have you been living under a rock for the last 20 years?
i’m talking about 1969 to 94 you clown, when the free state army sided with the brits.
Grand, so rather than been living under a rock, you’re actually just living in the past.
Thanks for trolling the comments section of an article regarding peacekeeping with irrelevant nonsense.
peacekeeping?
Sure they couldn’t keep the peace in this country, they allowed the brits to murder kids, women and men.
When they are fighting for someone else that is.
“The Irish have been fighting and winning wars for everyone else ,except themselves.”
Spike Milligan
SHHHHHH ! Its the new therapy for patients up in the NI funny farms!!
Let them work out on the Internet their fustrations and angsts.Tom obviously has been an inmate for awhile now as he keeps going on about the laughable plan to invade NI in the 1970s,he doesnt recognise its 2013 and the NI conflict is all over.
Just curious about one thing…Is he typing with his toes or nose???As I cant see how you can type otherwise wearing a sleveless nut suit.
You are showing your true colours now, ragheads? How dare you!
He’ll yeah there is a reason Ireland has participated in so many UN peace keeping missions. The Irish Defence Forces are amongst the most respected in the world. There is a long and proud tradition of peace keeping in the Irish Defence Forces
Well said Simon! The American Union was defended by the NY Irish!
Ragheads? I’m delighted your racism is spread across the globe. A disease upon your house.
Yet irish people generally mock our army.
I think a lot of countries could take a leaf out of our book .
600,000 of our citizens were being brutalised and murdered while the free staters were drinking tea and scratching their balls.
I hate tea
Tom Daly Clarke . Eamon De Valera gave the British government the 6 counties . To take back those 6 as much as we would like but the large majority want to stay with the UK because their NHS is better than the HSE among other things
Bartlett,
fine gael sold the 6 counties, get your facts right.
Don’t believe the hype, more and more people want a united Ireland.
Nothing changes the fact that they stood idly by while irish people were been slaughtered by the brits.
A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing.
@Tom Daly Clarke – Yeah probably because we didn’t want idiots like you as part of our country. If Northern Ireland floated off into the Atlantic tomorrow there’d be precious few down here or in Britian who would care.
@Tom Daly Clarke – Fine Gael didn’t even exist at the time. Get YOUR facts right.
jim walsh,
Cumann na Gaedhael sold out the 6 counties for a write down on the free states debt.
Who were Cumann na Gaedhael?
Well, according to fine gael themselves, Cumann na Gaedhael was fine gaels ‘parent’, a very bad fcuking parent given how fine gael turned out.
LEARN YOUR HISTORY
Tom, do you realise that the army doesn’t just go around doing what it wants or randomly deciding on its own initiative to wander into another country to do whatever it is you think they should have done? Which is what by the way? Commit mass suicide by invading the north and taking on the British army?
free state cowards.
The people of Ireland democratically voted to accept the treaty. A fact that is conveniently forgotten
The people of Ireland? My Belfast grandparents never had the chance to vote for or against any treaty, are you having a laugh?
Tom, I’m finding it hard to decipher whether or not you are a troll or one of these misdirected “nationalists” that appear to love nothing more than to drag this country back in to the dark ages. Although I’d like to think you are the first, unfortunately I have a feeling it is probably the latter that is true.
It’s sad to think there are still simpletons out there there that don’t recognise the progression we have had in this country. These same people usually still spout the IRA as the countries freedom fighters when we all know that todays IRA and it’s various forms is nothing more than a front for criminal activity and drug dealing. The British are not the problem. It’s the ignorance of these criminals, the real modern day plague of this country, and their profiting on the misery of unfortunate Irish men and women that is the real problem.
Tom, were the IRA not slaughtering anyone?
pedro, after the ira won democracy and civil rights they left the scene.
if your looking for drug pushers the cia and mi6 are the people you should be looking for.
Declan,
this is not about the ira, this is about free state cowards refusing to help irish passport holders in the north.
Funny that most in the North who supposedly suffer under the British combat boot are the least likely to echo your opinion.Might have something to do with a better lifestyle under “enemy occupation”than being liberated by a bunch of “Mexicans” from South of the border boglands,and seeing the mess the 26 is in I wouldnt blame them at all.
Be proud of our security forces, professional, well trained and equipped for the job, brave unselfish men and women.
Well done all.
Be safe.
What have the British ever done for us ?
Didn’t they civilise us then?
Just shut the hell up Tom. That crap is over. Stop bringing it up. Most of the people in Ireland have copped on, so just stop.
The Irish army didnt invade Northern Ireland for a large number of reasons, though plans were drawn up for it. Thankfully the politicians were smart enough to realise it would’ve been suicide. We didnt even have the machinery to get most of the troops to the border and would’ve had to resort to buses and trains. Any attack on the UK, no matter how successful initially, would’ve been met by a UK counterattack which within hours would’ve wiped out the Irish army, attacks on military installations in the south would have decimated numerous towns and probably led to many more casualties. As a member of NATO an attack on the UK would’ve been seen as a declaration of war on ALL member states including the USA. It would also have seen Ireland in breach of UN resolutions with regard to attacking neighbouring countries. So you can call them cowards all you like, they correctly followed sensible orders from their political masters.
I love the way you keep using the words “free staters” this from a man who more than likely draws the Queens unemployment benefit. Us down south don’t even really want the six counties back we can’t afford to keep you in the comfort ye are accustomed too.
Our Defence Forces are one more reason to be proud of Ireland. They willingly volunteer to put themselves in harms way so that other poor unfortunate humans can live a better life. For that I thank them and pray for and wish them a safe return.
The whys wherefores and the should ofs is for politicians- our Defence Forces deserve our respect, our support and our gratitude.
Why dont you move down here to the South then??No one is stopping you or denying you a visa ,not that you need one if it is such an utopian dream of all republicans?? We havent been the “free state” for quite awhile now.This is and was back in the 1970s,[an era you seem to be stuck in BTW],The Republic of Ireland or Irish Republic.Any true Iris Republican would know that.
@tom daly there’s loads of decent people living in Northern Ireland that Ireland or the uk would be proud to call their own, but you are definitely not 1 of these, it’s only a pity that we can’t put you and your like onto an iceberg and just float ye out to the middle of the Atlantic never to be seen or heard from again
@Simon
The successor state to the Irish Free State is Ireland – not the ‘Republic of Ireland’ or ‘Irish Republic’.
The Irish Constitution of 1937 says: “The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland”.
The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948, says: “It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland.”
Irish passports simply bear the name Ireland.
Irish government regulations and official statements frequently refer to “the Republic of Ireland”.
Can we not even make up our minds as what we call ourselves?????
I wish the Irish troops a safe tour of duty. I hope the UK and US tell their proxy Al Qaeda jihadist terrorists, (sorry rebels) not to interfere with their work or to kidnap them like they did with the Filipino UN soldiers.
Go neiridh an t-adh leo agus go mbeannaidh Dia ar saighdiuri croga.
Article 29 of Bunreacht na hEireann, to say nothing of the State’s UN membership obligations, should be sufficient to deflect criticism of this mission (or any peacekeeping mission) as some sort of violation of our neutrality.
“Ireland affirms its devotion to the ideal of peace and friendly co-operation amongst nations founded on international justice and morality.”
We may be neutral but we’re not pacifist.
Ireland’s long commitment to Lebanon will surely have some spillover effect in terms of experience when it comes to the Golan Heights in Syria.
the fact that they are working for the UNSA is reason enough to criticise them. They wouldn’t help our own citizens in the north. fcuk them.
ah joey,
joey is fergal reid….lol
The constitution also doesn’t specify that we actually are neutral so there is always that too!
It’s not their responsibility to help the “citizens” in the North.. Northern Ireland is under the british flag therefore its the british armies responsibility… This “great” knowledge of yours is obviously all coming from your previous army service… Pfffft!! Go join the force or read a few books before ya start dissing cause ya havent a clue ya clob!!
Tom Daly Clarke. If you are such a Hero why do you hide behind a fake twitter account? Why don’t you use your real name and real FB/ Twitter account?
You mean the Irish military should have invaded another country, basically? Yeah, because that’s a real clever thing to do.
Hey, Tom.
Change the f**king record will you?? Your ignorance is truly breathtaking!!
ignorance about what exactly?
give me a link to one ignorant thing that I am supposed to have said.
stop feeding the troll and it will soon vanish.
I hope he goes soon.
Ah lads, how the hell did this turn into a United Ireland debate, wish all the soldiers going abroad a safe tour, tis pretty crazy over there!
A propaganda piece if ever I saw one. Are we not neutral? They have absolutely no business going to Syria unless it it is to fight for ASSAD against terrorist skum.
You’re supporting the guy using chemical weapons on civilians?? Really?
We are neutral. Perhaps you missed the first line where it says “United Nations Mission”? Which in turn would suggest peacekeeping? Which in turn wouldn’t have an affect on neutrality? Which in turn makes your point moot?
@ Ian
Is there clear, unequivocal evidence showing that Assad did indeed use chemical weapons? Its a messy messy conflict and im not sure what side is more in the right but i do know there are plenty of online vids of extremists showing themselves in possession of such weapons. Whatever force from whichever country goes over there will potentially be seen as a threat and ultimately a despised one.
There are some extreme elements involved in that war and while its heartbreaking to watch whats happening i cant help but feel the West would be better to leave it to the Arab league to sort out.
ian,
you brainwashed idiot,
Assad is not using chemicals, the unsa backed opposition is.
The UN mission has nothing to do with the civil war, however just to note that anyone who believes that Assad, the Syrian government or its military were responsible for the gas attack are ignoring logic and evidence.
1. The last chemical weapon massacre in Syria, the one that almost had the French dropping bombs, was proven, ( and to be fair, accepted by the Western powers and media) to have been carried out by the rebels.
2. The Syrian army is a professional army comprised of Syrian citizens and is well integrated into Syrian society, with regiments from every area and tribe. The rebels are primarily foreign-born jihadists, western mercenaries, or Syrians that have spend many years studying in Al-Qaeda aligned madrasahs in Pakistan.
3. Eight days before the attack, a company of rebels were arrested by Turkish troops on the Turkish side of the boarder, and were discovered to use been transporting 3 chemical weapons canisters. This was reported on Al Jazeera, which despite a veneer of neutrality is on the intervention of things.
4. The chemical attack happens deep within rebel held territory, and were reportedly delivered by artillery, yet the same area has not come under normal artillery fire prior or since this event, possibly because its out of range, or maybe because the army does not have the resources.
5. UN chemical weapons investigators were in Syria at the time of the attack, the attack provides a great excuse for intervention. Ask yourself, who would that serve?
No, we aren’t neutral.
And if you think we are, please show me where it says so in our constitution, or tell me when we signed 1907 The Hague Convention, or show me where it is written in our laws
Well done Connor! ;-)
Can’t believe people could begin to assume the deployment & civil war were any way linked..
Bad panda,
Our neutrality is just a matter of foreign policy. I don’t know why everyone kicks up a fuss about it anyway, it was adopted to avoid getting dragged into WWII and isn’t really relavent to nowadays.
By rights our neutrality,is better described as Non belligerent.
Ireland isn’t in any formal alliances but that’s not what makes a neutral state in international law. Switzerland, Sweden, Austria & Finland have all enshrined it in their constitutions/national law and have signed up the The Hague Convention. We haven’t done any of those things and the actions of our state would actually be in direct breach of the Convention and we wouldn’t be entitled to claim neutral status even if we had signed it. Ireland is NOT a neutral state
Alan, did u see one uniform among the victims?
Did you see one uniform among the helpers?
The chemical attack was preceded by artillery to break windows etc to allow the gas do maximum damage.
Looks very much like Government work to me.
What’s this “we” business your a Brit you live in Northern Ireland from what you say, we don’t want you the Brits don’t want you, take the hint and F!CK off.
@ Kevin
Would i be wrong in thinking the Rebels also have artillery? Is it really inconceivable that some rebel faction(s) were behind both the chemical weapon attack and the artillery assault?
I haven’t seen any evidence so im reserving judgement until i do
The Irish army are the equivalent of ‘Dad’s Army’, a complete joke and Ireland has never been neutral either, ask the US administration.
And you would know this through your vast military experience I take it or did you decide that after playing too much playstation.
stephen, you can tell by looking at the equipment and funding of the Irish army. As brave as these men and women are, they would only be able to defend the country for about 10 minutes. I don’t understand why our brave government insists on putting them in harms way without the proper resources. Shameless PR BS for our masters I’ll bet.
The PDF is one of the best trained modern forces in the world as are the ARW who regularly train with special forces all over the world specialising in anti terrorist activities. You obviously don’t know what you are talking about.
It is why the Irish soldiers are respected the world over for being both professional and friendly with the local population and have built up a great relationship with the people of Lebanon.
How are the US and British troops getting on with the locals in Afghanistan and Iraq?
Another thing to remember is that in a recent Special Forces competition conducted by the UN Irish Special Forces came in second over all in a competition covering a huge array of disciplines.
Get your facts right and show a bit of resect.
@censored what equipment exactly are you talking about and what’s wrong with it in your opinion
As your mother said to your father Fong “your some useless pice of shi7″. It was a common ground for them.
Second last would be more like it. A bunch of lager louts
They have proudly served Ireland as peace keepers in many conflicts around the world, gaining the respect of many nations and both sides of many conflicts.
The Congo, the Lebenon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Syria,
The list grows as respect for the manner they carry out their duties brings new requests for the services they provide so well.
Well done all
@rodrigo not bad 4 lager louts
http://www.thestar.ie/star/rangers-pipped-at-post-for-top-gun-prize/
Karl ..That SF competition was over five years ago!!!Have ARW been in the top five since??? Its a bit like saying Almost won the world cup….once!Also anti terrorist activity is something completely different to going and fighting a counter insurgency or gureilla war.Be like sending a Garda to deal with the PLO.
@simon that competition was actually last year at the international United States sniper competition at fort benning
Wish a safe tour of duty to all involved. We have an exceptional army, good story Journal.
You obviously missed the part where they’re going into a war zone, as Peacekeepers.
Perhaps hiding behind the egg behind blinded ya…?
@rodrigo the soldier in the photo doesn’t fit your stereotypical image.
Seems like a very serious and professional guy. Wishing them all a safe trip. Beanncht leo go léir.
Beannacht*
Unless they are defending their own country in their own country. Soilders are nothing more than paid murderers. Risking their life for a little money so that big business can make loads of money
exactly john,
they didn’t have the balls to help nationalists in the north.
@john what exactly is a soilder
@tom daly I don’t think I’ve ever seen an army reject as bitter as you
Completely agree. The British and Americans should have left France, Belgium and the rest of Europe to the Germans back in the 40′s. What business did they have liberating those people from a totalitarian, genocidal régime?
You’re an idiot.
‘We have military stuff as well’ lol you Irish crack me up.
I see the xenophobe is back.
You have me mixed up kind sir I don’t play a percussion instrument
How droll. I definitely don’t have you mixed you up though. I picked you up on a similar comment about ‘us Irish’ several weeks ago. I’m glad to see you’ve learned from that experience.
28 seems young to be a Captain. Fair play to him. He must be one of the army’s promising officers. Best of luck to him and his comrades.
Surely they are just going to see what the Israeli’s are doing and not to watch Assad and the MB ?
They’re probably just going to watch what everybody is doing, “watch” being the operative word. I doubt any of the various factions will be too worried about 150 Irish peacekeepers. If anything happens they can offer tea and biscuits to the aggressors as they pass through.
You have to ask the question, whether Ireland are sending troops in order to get the Rangers over there (quietly) for some more specific operations?
True. And with them out of the way the path is clear for Celtic to win the championship.
the rangers had plenty of ‘specific reasons’ to help irish nationalists but they ran away from the brits.
Explain that one Tom.
Explain how the ARW could conquer Northern Ireland?
Why do you have to ask that?
Quite frankly no-one should be engaging with guerrillas until they learn to behave properly and stop exposing themselves in front of innocent children in Zoo’s the world over.
How did the comment end up here? Apologies, it was aimed at my cultured and dignified friend Tom.
Safe trip to all the armed forces see you all in march 2014
Good Luck to the lads in Syria, they’ll do us proud
The irish army didn’t even come out in the snow when the country was nearly in emergency. Or when they was floods , they’re as useful as a dog with 2 mickeys.
They did, on both occasions.
sure didn’t they make sandwiches and tea for nationalist refugees instead of of fighting brit terrorists.
You seem obsessed with sandwiches & tea.
Quite a chip u have on ur shoulder there Tom : u shud do a little more research especially on Border incidents and u might be pleasantly surprised in face it might even knock that chip of ur shoulder .
I think fake names should be banned on the Journal. A bunch of idiots hiding behind fake names.
I presume this a voluntary deployment, and anyone that volunteers will be handsomely compensated?
Soldiers can & have been directed to deploy overseas. How much would you pay someone to go into a conflict zone where there’s a real chance of being killed or injured?
Depends on your definition of “handsomely compensated”, or what you think might be appropriate financial reward for going to a potential war zone…
You can earn a couple of million just by sitting behind a big desk in a business with absolutely no risks to your safety. Potentially putting your life on the line to prevent two countries blowing each other to pieces offers a paltry sum in comparison.
ah right ; story of kids dying in syria then this old story pulled out again ; preparing paddy for war are we dahlings ?
Some people in Ireland would like to compare the Irish Rangers to the Israeli special forces, or even the SAS, or American marines, but in fact it’s like comparing a shitzu to an Irish wolfhound.
On what experience do you base that little gem of an opinion. My guess is that you are pure …..100% civilian…… JOIN UP OR SHUT UP !!!!!
Unarmed defence force are not in anyway an Army. These missions are purely for financial gain for the people volunteering.
Unarmed?
Someone clearly doesn’t understand the definition of the word army.
They might as well be unarmed, relatively speaking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_weapons_of_the_Irish_Army
I think the word “Modern” is being used in Ironic fashion. Check out the “Modern vehicles” section for more laughs.
Read the article, actually here you go, a bit of ctrl+v for your convenience;
“Are you going to be armed?”
“Yes. We bring our own protection and weapons. We, the Irish Army, have very good Force Protection Measures.
“We will have our Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) for force protection. We also each have our own individual protection issued to each soldier, as well as weapons. Both are very, very good. We’re a modern, Western, professional army and we’re well equipped and well trained because of that.”
As for the financial gain bit, yes of course there is incentive but you won’t see soldiers returning wearing Versace combat fatigues and gold-plated Steyrs. It’s a fair reward for the hard work, dedication and bravery of these soldiers who do a phenomenal job of representing Ireland.
@censored, it’s not the kit, it’s the training that makes the difference. The most dangerous weapon any soldier has is the grey matter between the ears and the troops next to them who watch their back.
@censored which of the vehicles would you change the mowags are modern the Americans copied them and now call them Strykers the scanias are used by the Germans and are only in around 5 years and the LTAVs are in around the same time
Bang on.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/afghanistan/2011-08-14-stryker-IED-protect-troops_n.htm
Just one example. Of course, there will no danger from IEDs. Even the militias in that area have been better armed and equipped than the Irish army. No disrespect to our soldiers.
@johnny what experience do you have of any army apart from the odd war movie or call of duty. you’re the sort of person who thinks they’re a hard man but only when they’re hidden behind a keyboard or have had a few drinks. Other than that ul always b a coward
history will judge those who took part in todays bullshit wars! this should be the Irish peoples red line for crying out loud!!
I love the Irish but how are 5 Irish soldiers going to separate the Israelis and Homas/ Syrians?
Don’t know why the north comes up in these discussions, fact is a lot of men from the south were involved in the troubles.
To be honest I don’t think any Irish soldier should be sent to this situation as they may have the training but will lack the equipment and the kind of mental regime present in other arms like the Brits and Americans. In other words they are more intelligent and come from a caring society but you’d never guess that from reading these comments,this mission will be mental torture given the madness at play over there. Kids been knee capped on sight for the last 12 months is just one such unreported fact,
G-UN.
Stupid questions should be answered with a stupid response! :-/
Considering this article was about the Irish Army being deployed to Syria I think that a lot of contributors should not have bothered with their posts. They missed the point. Nothing to do with past northern Irish deployments, these men and women are being sent to Syria and hopefully will return safe and sound to their families. Take care lads and safe home.
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