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THE FIRST FEMALE in the history of the state to reach the rank of Major General was announced today.
Major General Maureen O’Brien is the first female officer to achieve this status and will now take up the role of Deputy Military Advisor to the UN Under Secretary General for Peace Operations at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The Major-General said today at Cathal Brugha Barracks that she is looking forward to her new role and that her appointment to this position shows that if you can see it, “you can be it, you just have to work hard.”
Major General O’Brien has previously worked with UN peacekeeping in East Timor, Lebanon, and Chad, where, in 2009, she was the first woman to serve as the Deputy Commanding Officer of an infantry battalion. In 2012, she became the first woman to command an infantry battalion when she was appointed Officer Commanding 27th Infantry Battalion in Dundalk.
Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney, said that her appointment to this rank and this role in the UN is a “great source of pride for the Defence Forces” and the fact that she is the first woman to hold this rank shows great potential for men and women alike in the Defence Forces.
“It’s a fantastic story, and I hope it’ll be an inspiration for a lot of young women to think about the Defence Forces differently in terms of the impact that they can make.”
“The truth is: female peacekeepers can do things that men can’t do in certain settings in different parts of the world. When, for example, we’re trying to deal with the consequences of sexual violence used as a war tool […] People will talk to female peacekeepers in a way that is different sometimes to men.”
Major General O’Brien said that while there are more men, she doesn’t feel the Defence Forces are male-dominated. “I think with any organisation, when there are more men, you will have a more maybe masculine approach.”
She said more diversity brings different perspectives. “We all bring something different and men don’t all bring the same things either. But I think having women in may allow some men maybe to express themselves more.”
“Today, we currently only have 7% of our defence forces are female,” said Coveney. “That is something that has been gradually improving in recent years, but not at a pace that I would like.”
Coveney also said the Department of Defence is aiming to get this percentage into double figures.
Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Mark Mellett DSM, said that he would like to see more women in the Defence Forces and said that Major General O’Brien is a role model for that.
“We have a women’s forum that is actually continually challenging me in ways that we can actually improve the work-life balance to make the organisation more attractive for women, as well as men,” Vice Admiral Mellett said, as part of initiatives the Defence Forces have to tackle the gender imbalance.
“For us, it’s not about political correctness, not about access to an extra 50% of the population, […] and it’s not just about being a better reflection of society we defend, protect and serve. It’s about capability, greater gender balance in our decision making.”
Congratulations on your appointment Major General Maureen. Best of luck at the United Nations. You’re flying the flag.
Great news!
She is the very model of a modern major general…
In a male oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
Considering the age of the state and the way women have been 2nd class decades up until the 80s I’d say Well done and a great achievement..
We live in a very diverse Country not afraid to speak and show the way..
Apart from our political parties that is.. say no more Congrats to the Mayor General..
Well done
Congratulations on your appointment.
Congratulations Major General
What an orientated world we live in
@Tiarnan Guinée: *oriented ffs hahah
Gaillimh Abú, congratulations.
Congrats first woman
Old guard must be turning in their graves a female General sailor in charge of the DF…
@Paul Murphy: hope it dosent hurt them.
Great stuff ,
It’s great to see women being treated as equals,
It’s a pity about the few bad apples who lost their jobs and their phones at the same time.
Will somebody please turn off the Eugene Canning bot! It is malfunctioning.
Congratulations to Major General O’Brien.
Are ya alright there Eugene?
Congratulations on your achievement of becoming the first female major general in the Army
In a oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
In a oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
@Eugene Canning: once wasn’t enough? You said it 17 times
In a oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
IT used to be jobs for the boys now the girls are joining in, It is a joke our soldiers on the ground are struggling with poor wages under resourced low in numbers put stl having to do the same work load 24hr duties increased for buttons having their wages subsidised to make end meet, and the ordinary soldier is leaving in their droves can’t keep them , But its not the same for the Officers its all for them Now for a force of 8000 plus we have something like 15 Generals. I’d say we have as many as the USA ARMY LOL and they have 200,000 plus, Its just a joke.
In a male oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
@Eugene Canning: 17 times as patronizing as the first time you commented …..
A woman becomes a general instead of (presumably) a man. The right person for the right job. Barely newsworthy.
@Eugene Canning: Seventeen times? Really?
@Eugene Canning: so a woman says”there are things women do that men can’t”and nothing??imagine the outrage if a man were to say”there are things we men do that women can’t”there would be accusations of sexism!by the way i was a UN peacekeeper did 2 tours in Bosnia(Sarajevo)!
@Frédéric Slimane: Unless I’m mistaken there are in fact things a woman can do that men can’t?
@Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin:no you are not mistaken there are things women do that men can’t my issue is with the way she expressed it.
@Frédéric Slimane: The context within which she expressed the fact is entirely true. Women and children who are victims of sexual violence, usually at the hands of males, are far more comfortable dealing with females than with males. There is nothing whatsoever new or untrue in this statement.
In a male oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
In a oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
In a oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
In a oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
Good for Maureen, Major General
In a oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
In a male oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
God bless them each month
In a male oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
@Eugene Canning: Eugene’s had a stroke. (And not the one he’s been turned down for all his life either.)
In a male oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
In a oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
In a oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
In a oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
Good Girl!
In a male oriented world! What a fantastic achievement
Good Girl
She has information, vegetable, animal and mineral, apparently.
I knew her when she was a Captain, great officer, natural leader, well deserved promotion.
Individuals fulfil roles they are qualified for in any forum irrespective of gender. It shouldn’t be an issue at all at all.
Deserved congratulations, Major-General O’Brien. I am sure that you will do yourself, your country and your fellow soldiers proud. All the best!
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