Irish Defence Minister Helen McEntee heads to Lebanon to address peacekeeper's death and bilateral ties

Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Helen McEntee, is set to travel to Lebanon for a series of high-level meetings. The itinerary includes discussions with Irish Defence Forces personnel deployed on the UNIFIL mission, Lebanese government leaders, United Nations officials and international partners. Central to the talks is the forthcoming inquest into the December 14, 2022 attack that killed Private Seán Rooney, a 24-year-old soldier from County Donegal.

McEntee will also meet President Joseph Aoun, foreign minister Youssef Rajji, justice minister Adel Nassar and members of the 128th Infantry Battalion based at Camp Shamrock in southern Lebanon. She highlighted Ireland’s five-decade contribution to peace and stability in the country and affirmed that, despite the winding down of its UNIFIL deployment, Ireland will maintain strong support for Lebanon through cooperation with the UN, the EU and other international actors.