Medal ceremony honours humanitarian missions

Minister Paul Kehoe presented medals to 60 members of the Defence Forces to honour them for their service on vital missions at a special ceremony in Rosslare Europort at the weekend. They became the first recipients of a new medal designed to recognise those who served overseas in humanitarian missions.

Medals were awarded to members of the Permanent Defence Forces, the Army Nursing and the Chaplaincy Services serving on board LE Eithne who have taken part in Operation Pontus rescuing thousands of desperate people trying to get to Europe. Six medals were also presented to those who were deployed in Sierra Leone as part of an initiative to tackle the Ebola virus.

More than 300 family members and other guests joined Minister Kehoe in Rosslare for the ceremony on Saturday afternoon.

The announcement of the new medal was made in recent months by Minister Paul Kehoe during a recent visit to Cagliari, Sardinia to meet the crew of the offshore patrol vessel LE James Joyce. The medal, which will be known as the ‘Defence Forces International Operational Service Medal’, is the first of its kind.

During the visit to Sardinia, Minister Kehoe said members of the Irish Naval Service had rescued more than 11,500 migrants in the Mediterranean, demonstrating the value of Ireland’s participation in this mission.