In total 87 Defence Forces members have lost their lives overseas in the last 63 years. From 1958 there have been 70,000 individual tours of duty completed by Irish Defence Forces personnel. Today, the Defence Forces have a particular advantage in the diversity that foreign-born personnel bring. However, some figures supplied by the Defence Forces press office show many just opted on their application form just to give 'Europe' of their place of birth. This explains the affinity with the sea and he added very emphatically that he's “loving it” [the Naval Service].

Source: Irish Examiner May 10, 2021 05:31 UTC