In action in Ukraine, a former Irish Defence Forces soldier lost their life, reports RTE.
On Thursday, Robert Deegan, a man in his late 20s, lost his life while engaging in action with the Ukrainian army.
He was on his second tour of duty in the war-torn nation, having resigned from the Irish Defence Forces.
While covering his team’s withdrawal from a location during combat with Russian forces, he sustained fatal injuries, reports RTE.
Information on the event is “sketchy,” according to independent TD and former Defence Forces member Cathal Berry, although it is thought to have happened in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border.
“Obviously, our thoughts are with the family at the moment, which I understand is a very well-known and highly, highly respected military family from the east of the country,” reports RTE.
He said that the man had been in Ukraine two years prior, but that he had returned to Ireland following severe explosion injuries.
A few months ago, he went back to the front lines in Ukraine.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he added that there is no official recruiting process for Ukrainians in Ireland and that there are very few former members of the Defence Forces in Ukraine, reports RTE.
Since the conflict began in February 2022, four further Irish men have lost their lives while fighting in Ukraine.
Both Finbar Cafferkey of Acaill, County Mayo, and Graham Dale of Raheny, County Dublin, perished in combat with Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
“People on their own initiative in a very ad hoc fashion are flying by Ryanair to eastern Poland. They’re getting the train to the Ukrainian border and just presenting themselves at the border,” Mr Berry explained, reports RTE.
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