THE PRESIDENT, Mary McAleese, has praised Ireland's peacekeeping record during which members of the Defence Forces have shown an extraordinary and "tenacious commitment".
During a speech to Irish soldiers in Lourdes, France, Mrs McAleese said the country "has shouldered time and again more than its fair share of the burden of care for the world's most distressed and oppressed peoples".
On Thursday the President travelled to the town in France to be part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the International Military Pilgrimage. The pilgrimage was started by French and German troops in 1958, and this weekend soldiers from more than 20 countries are attending religious services.
As President, Mrs McAleese is supreme commander of the Defence Forces, and was the first president to visit Irish soldiers on active service abroad in Lebanon, Kosovo and Liberia, said a spokeswoman.
She was in Lourdes 10 years ago for the 40th anniversary commemorations of the soldiers' pilgrimage, which this year involves 1,400 members and associates of the Defence Forces.
Included in that number this year are new Army recruits, family members, Civil Defence staff and service personnel who are ill or incapacitated.
Mrs McAleese said the Army had earned respect around the globe, and its role had changed with increasingly complex operations and in very difficult conditions.