Senior military man to be honoured
Mullingar Municipal District is to present an address of recognition to Brigadier General Ger Buckley after members backed a proposal made by Cllr Ken Glynn.
Cllr Glynn told colleagues that Brig Gen Buckley was commissioned into the artillery corps in 1983, and is currently military representative to the European Unity and NATO.
“He is the most senior person left that served in Columb Barracks,” said Cllr Glynn, adding that the decision of the government of the time to close Columb Barracks was “probably one of the worst decisions ever”.
“As Brigadier General Buckley moves towards retirement, I think we should celebrate his success,” he continued.
Giving some detail on the Kerry-born military man, Cllr Glynn said he had held a broad range of appointments within the corps, having had experience in the operations, strategic planning, logistics and financial spheres.
“Most recently, he served as a defence forces director of combat support and ISTAR with additional responsibility for the reserve defence forces. Previously, he served as the director of joint logistics supporting defence force operations across all services at home and overseas.”
Prior to that, he worked in conflict prevention and peacekeeping with the UN and in crisis management with NATO, an appointment that was preceded by a number of years as a defence notices J8 which was in finance.
He’s had extensive experience operating across a broad spectrum of security environments with a range of security actors. These deployments include clear conflict prevention and peacekeeping, conflict prevention and peacekeeping with the United Nations, crisis management with NATO, post conflict resolution with OSCE and security sector reform with the EU.
Cllr Glynn said Mr Buckley had also served in Northern Macedonia, in Bosnia, in Kabul and in Mogadishu.
He said that an address of recognition would provide Mullingar with an opportunity to recognize Brig Gen Buckley’s achievements.
Cllr Mick Dollard supported the proposal, saying Brig Gen Buckley was very highly thought of in military circles.
The proposal now goes before the county council’s corporate policy group as a recommendation.