IRELAND JOINED the United Nations in 1955 and three years later Irish officers first served as part of the UN's military observer mission in Lebanon. So began the participation of Irish troops in UN peacekeeping missions in trouble spots around the world - in the Middle East, Africa and Central America.
Last week marked the 50th anniversary of that peacekeeping role and Ireland's long tradition of international service in the cause of peace was honoured at a ceremony at McKee Barracks.
Under the United Nations Charter, Ireland is obliged to support UN efforts to maintain global peace and security. This State has fully met its obligations. The Defence Forces have performed with courage and distinction in difficult and dangerous assignments and some have paid with their lives. Since 1958, 85 soldiers and one garda have died on peacekeeping missions, the heaviest casualties occurring in 1960 in the UN mission to the Congo where 26 soldiers were killed.
They died, as President John F Kennedy said in his address to the Dáil in 1963, "doing the world's most important work -the work of peace". Mindful of Ireland's role in the world, President Kennedy reminded his Leinster House audience of those nations that set a standard for others to follow. As he pointed out: "The peacekeeping machinery of the United Nations cannot work without the help of the smaller nations, nations whose forces threaten no one and whose forces can thus help create a world in which no nation is threatened".
Ireland's international acceptance as a peacekeeper reflects its success in that conflict resolution role over the last half century. Its record has been impressive. At present some 800 members of the Defence Forces are serving in 12 missions worldwide. One officer, Lieut Gen Pat Nash, is EU Operation Commander of the UN-mandated mission in Chad where 400 Irish soldiers help provide security and aid to refugees from the conflict in Darfur. Another, Brig Gen Gerry Hegarty commands the multinational taskforce in Kosovo.
Given the size of the Defence Forces, Ireland has made a disproportionate contribution to UN peacekeeping. Our military neutrality ensures that deployment of Irish troops overseas can only follow a Government decision, Dáil approval and UN authorisation. As Taoiseach Brian Cowen pointed out last week, this enables Ireland to uphold a long tradition of military neutrality while supporting UN mandated peacekeeping missions that are designed to protect world peace.