There will be a run for the charity Goal, welfare packages from home and a big dinner, but duties will continue on Christmas Day for the hundreds of Irish soldiers serving as peacekeepers in southern Lebanon this year.
“The routine is the same every day whether it’s Christmas, new year’s or any other Wednesday or Tuesday,” said Capt Andrew Dunne.
The 29-year-old, from Mullingar, is in Lebanon for the first time and will be missing his wife and three daughters.
“It’s quite different seeing all the lights going up at home and seeing the kids doing their thing ... watching the school plays and all the rest of it, but it’s also a very privileged position to be [here]. Obviously, we’re the eyes and ears of the world, really at the minute, in this part of the world,” he says.
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Taoiseach Micheál Martin visited Camp Shamrock – also known as UN base UNP 2-45 – on Saturday, to wish a merry Christmas to the peacekeepers and to express his appreciation.
There are about 366 Irish troops in the camp, most of whom have been in Lebanon since November on a six-month mission as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) operation dating back to 1978 that keeps the peace between Israel and Hizbullah militants in Lebanon.
John Kennedy, a battalion sergeant major from Dublin, says social media is a big help for soldiers separated from their families at times like these.
Kennedy said he first came to Lebanon in 1991 when they still sent letters back to Ireland. Because of their responsibilities and duties, Christmas isn’t too bad, but “it’s a lot harder for the families at home”.
He says some soldiers are out here for the first time with “young children at home, wives coping without their husbands – the empty chair at the dinner table kind of thing”.
Dubliner Cpl Michael Mulhall (33) is away from his four daughters and seven-month-old son.
“I’m missing them opening presents but, you know, I’ll have to make more memories in the coming years,” he said.
“I’ll be able to communicate on the day through WhatsApp video calls, and I’ll be able to see their faces when they wake up and see their presents under the tree.”
Devon Roche (40), from Cork, says it is his third Christmas away from home and first away from his children, six-year-old Jack and three-year-old Ben.
“We know when we sign up the job is to serve away,” he says.
“I do believe they’ll be proud of their dad serving abroad and helping the Lebanese people.”
Part of the role of Sgt Shane Gallagher (46) is outreach with Lebanese people living in the country’s south, including in frontline villages with a lot of destruction that many locals remain displaced from.
“This time of year, we did a donation of clothes and toys to the two front villages, Yaroun and Maroun al-Ras, that are closest to the Blue Line and most in need,” he says.
Troops also attended a carol service in a local Christian village and a Christmas market in another, says battalion commander Mark Lennon.
Gallagher has completed seven Unifil missions, with 11 overseas trips under his belt.
“The experience is good. It’s always different every time you come back, something has always changed and I’ve done various roles,” he says.
This is his sixth Christmas in Lebanon.
“It’s always the time of year that you want to be at home ... It’s kind of routine now but I miss my mother of course, my wife Amanda, and my kids Scott, James and Katie,” he says.
On Christmas Day, he plans to get up early for a run, then do a video call with his family and “see how everyone’s getting on” ahead of Christmas dinner.
As a message for those at home, he says: “With missing Christmas this year, we’ll make up for it next year.”
