A soldier in combats shimmied down a rope on to the deck of the LE Roisin as a Naval Service speedboat darted about the Liffey.
Men and women, their faces daubed with muck, hunched behind pillars. Passers-by stared, wondering whether Dublin was under attack. The show of force was, however, designed to entice young men and women into joining the Defence Forces.
The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, yesterday initiated the force's biggest recruitment campaign in years in an attempt to attract 1,040 trainees to bolster flagging numbers in the Army, the Naval Service and the Air Corps.
Mr Smith said: "The job market is infinitely more keen than ever before, and each year we try to do something to make the recruitment campaign a success, and this year the campaign will be even more intense."
The forces are under pressure to maintain their 10,500-strong numbers to fulfil obligations under the new European Union Rapid Reaction Force, which requires the State to have 850 troops ready and trained by the end of 2003.
The Chief-of-Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieut Gen Colm Mangan, said: "It's absolutely vital for the well-being of the Defence Forces. We're on the threshold of a whole new era in the force and we can't afford to ignore the most important element, the personnel." The Defence Forces are seeking young men and women between 17 and 25, or up to 27 for the Naval Service.
