Defence Policy
The First 12 Hours
If war reached Europe’s Atlantic edge, how much organised national capability could Ireland put into action in its first twelve hours?
Stories for the IDFVN
Article archive
Veterans’ affairs, pensions, defence policy, service, history and community, gathered in one searchable place.
33 articles
Opinion
We Told You So Again
Promises, Pauses and Cutbacks: Why the Defence Forces Keep Paying for Decisions Made Elsewhere
Opinion
Defence on the Cheap? The Voices Government Can No Longer Afford to Ignore
RACO, PDFORRA and RDFRA have sounded the alarm on staffing, pay, safety and stalled reform. IDFVN asks whether Government is hearing the people who keep the Defence Forces working.
History & Service
No Water, No Lights, No Showers
At Mwene-Ditu, an Irish soldier could spend the day guarding the camp, collecting water and securing an airstrip, then return to a tent with no electric light and no shower.
Defence Policy
The Octagon’s First Real Test: What Did the Trump Security Operation Reveal?
President Donald Trump’s two-day visit to Ireland provided the first truly high-profile test of the Defence Forces’ new Joint Task Force headquarters the “Octagon” at McKee Barracks.
Defence Policy
Who Is Watching Ireland’s Skies?
Another drone. Another visual sighting. IDFVN examines the gaps in Ireland’s air picture and the difference between counter-drone protection and national military radar coverage.
History & Service
The Night Patrol Stepped Over Sleeping Families
The refugees of Kashia and the Irish soldiers who fed, reassured and patrolled among them: an IDFVN account drawn from the 1st Infantry Group’s Congo unit history of 1961.
Recruitment & Retention
New Equipment, Same Old Answers: Ireland’s Security Crisis Is a People Crisis
R. McAney examines the defence debate through the everyday concerns of personnel: pay, pensions, accommodation, contracts and the conditions that persuade experienced people to stay.
History & Service
Wednesday Nostalgic History Day: Part Four, The Finnegans of Goma
Irish Military Police and Congolese policemen patrol together in Goma. This instalment of the 32nd Infantry Battalion series recalls peacekeeping built through daily contact and trust.
Opinion
Confidence Is Not Capability: Ireland’s Frontline Services Are Running Out of People
An IDFVN commentary connecting staffing pressures across defence and frontline public services, with a focus on retention, pensions and abatement.
History & Service
Wednesday Nostalgic History Day: Part Two, The Night the Advance Party Nearly Became Prisoners
The 32nd Infantry Battalion’s advance party arrives in Goma amid armed troops, seized stores and deep suspicion. The unit history records a tense early test of judgement and restraint.
History & Service
32nd Infantry Battalion in the Congo: Part One, A Battalion Formed in Ten Days
From the Curragh and a parade through Dublin to the airlift from Baldonnel, this opening instalment follows the hurried formation and deployment of Ireland’s first UN battalion in 1960.
Defence Policy
Ireland’s Open Atlantic Door
IDFVN examines the relationship between Naval Service staffing, maritime surveillance and the wider cost of protecting an island nation against international organised crime.
History & Service
Wednesday Nostalgic History Day: Part Four, Christmas in the Sinai
Bethlehem, a desert swim and duty on the ceasefire line: the concluding 25th Infantry Group story recalls Christmas 1973 and the soldiers who remained on watch far from home.
Opinion
Lessons Have Been Learned. But Who Remembers Them?
Remembering the crew of Rescue 111, R. McAney asks how lessons from aviation tragedies remain part of institutional memory and inform later equipment and operational decisions.
Veterans’ Policy
140,000 Veterans, No Legal Definition: What Australia’s Reform Says About Ireland
Ireland may have around 140,000 former Defence Forces members, yet the State still has no legal definition of a veteran or fully coordinated national system of support.
Media
IDFVN Podcast Series: Emergency Means Now Not In Two Years
The first episode in the IDFVN Podcast Series brings the Defence Forces emergency debate into a direct media format for veterans, serving personnel and families.
Defence Law
New Defence Act Powers: What the 2026 Law Means for Soldiers, Military Police and Civilians
A legal and public-interest IDFVN look at the new Defence Act powers, ATCP duties, proportional force and the safeguards needed when military personnel deal with civilians.
History & Service
Wednesday Nostalgic History Day: Part Two, The Road to Rabah
Part of the IDFVN series on the 25th Infantry Group, drawing on unit history to follow the story, route and experience of Irish peacekeepers in Cyprus.
Veterans’ Events
Veterans’ First Friday & Range Day: 4 September 2026
Past event: the 4 September 2026 veterans’ range day. Original invitation retained in the archive.
Pensions & Pay
Could This Finally Be Some Good News for Defence Forces Pay and Future Pensions?
A measured look at the latest public-service pay developments, what they may mean for serving personnel and how future pension calculations could benefit.
Veterans’ Events
Veterans First Friday: Range Day, Stories, Laughter and Friendship
Veterans came together in Balbriggan for a day built around safe range practice, old stories, good humour and the fellowship that remains after service.
Recruitment & Retention
If Ireland Cannot Keep Its Own Soldiers, Why Is It Looking Overseas?
Recruitment from abroad cannot be allowed to disguise the long-running failures that have driven trained Irish personnel out of the Defence Forces.
Defence Policy
Who Really Commands Our Defence Forces? Another Ceremony, Another Symbol of Political Disrespect
A ceremonial moment raised a much larger question about military authority, political optics and the respect afforded to those in uniform.
Defence Policy
The Question That Should Send Chills Through Every Irish Citizen
A direct examination of the capability gaps Ireland can no longer afford to treat as somebody else’s problem.
Overseas Service
The Triple Lock Is Not Just About Politics: It Is About Soldiers, Sailors and Aircrew
Behind the political argument are real missions, real personnel and serious consequences for Ireland’s future overseas commitments.
Opinion
Ireland: From Neutral Nation to Security Protectorate?
A veteran-led analysis of sovereignty, neutrality and the uncomfortable security choices now facing the State.
History & Service
Soldiers First: The Men Behind the Fire Piquet
A human account of the ordinary duties and dependable people whose service rarely made headlines but always mattered.
Pensions & Abatement
Protected for Politicians, Penalised for Public Servants: The Double Standard of Pension Abatement
Why pension abatement continues to feel less like a neutral rule and more like a penalty imposed on veterans who return to public service.
Opinion
The Grey Men Never Walked in the Shadows
An examination of the influence, language and quiet authority that shape defence decisions long before the public hears about them.
Overseas Service
Continued Participation in What? The Grey Language Around UNIFIL’s Final Days
Official phrases are tested against the practical reality facing Irish personnel and the future of Ireland’s long association with UNIFIL.
Defence Forces
PDFORRA Conference 2026: Pay Rows, Legal Threats and a Defence Force at Breaking Point
The arguments around pay and representation reveal the pressure building across an organisation already stretched far beyond comfort.
Veterans’ Policy
Forgotten Again: Rome, Veterans and the Lessons Still Ignored
International comparison throws Ireland’s limited recognition of its veteran population into sharp relief.