I wish to pay tribute to the 600 women and men from Ireland who serve with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). They do this State great credit.
Highly regarded by other international forces and held in affection by the local population, they command the respect even of the opposing armies of Israel and the Lebanese factions.
At a time when pictures of violence and religious intolerance often hijack the worldwide perception of Irish people, here is a group of highly professional men and women who are disciplined, compassionate and full of good humour as they go about the difficult and sensitive job of keeping the peace and saving the next generation from the scourge of war. It has been at a cost.
At Battalion HQ, I was privileged, with Lieut Col G. Moore and all ranks, to place a wreath in memory of 44 members of the Irish Defence Forces who have died in Lebanon.
The purpose of the five-day visit was pastoral, and I was accompanied by the Chaplain General and joined by the two serving chaplains in Lebanon, Father Hugh McGonigal and Father Richard Marnell. We visited the camps and observation posts where Irish troops were at work. There may be sunshine but these are not holiday camps. Often living in cramped, uncomfortable conditions, the troops go about their work cheerfully and with a seriousness of purpose, for they are in the business of saving lives.
Our first visit was to the Force Mobile Reserve in Naqoura. Lieut Col D. Timpson ably and caringly leads a multinational team with soldiers from Nepal, Finland, Ghana, Fiji, Poland, India and Ireland. It was a ground-level snapshot of the UN at its best. Here the nations gathered for Christian worship and the deep harmony of the Fijian hymn-singing seemed an apt symbol of a peacekeeping force where all could play a part.
We had breakfast with community leaders, who expressed gratitude for the Irish presence. It was heart-warming to learn of the humanitarian work carried out by the 87th Irish Battalion.
The orphanage at Tibnin has been protected through the fighting by the Irish troops, who have also provided it with necessary supplies. Dr Mary Murphy conducts clinics in the barracks and in the villages.
When farmers in the occupied zone wanted to work in their small fields, the Irish troops would take positions around them to protect them from hostile fire. Sadly, not all civilians have been spared and we went reluctantly to Qana to visit the site where 106 civilians were killed by Israeli shells.
We were left numb by the scene. War degrades, peacekeeping dignifies.
It was a good time to visit the troops in Lebanon. Signs of hope instead of sounds of shells filled the air. Children's voices are once again heard in Attiri which for years was left with only elderly residents. As our vehicle turned a dusty corner into the town, the first person to be seen was a young mother holding her baby.
Round the next corner children waved enthusiastically at the UN vehicles. Seasoned soldiers could not help but be moved by these signals of hope. During our visit, Irish troops moved to the Israel-Lebanon border to set up a UN post for the first time in 22 years. Brig Gen J. Sreenan, the Deputy Force Commander of UNIFIL, had spent the previous day in helicopter diplomacy between Jerusalem and Beirut and had agreed the restored line of the 1948 border.
Another miracle was taking place before our eyes. The expected civil war between Muslim and Christian villages in the liberated south of Lebanon never materialised. A senior Muslim leader and cleric explained how the Christian and Muslim community leaders came together and agreed to look to the future and be united as "Lebanese".
It was an echo of Wolfe Tone hoping that the common name of "Irishman" would take precedence over the difference between Catholic, Protestant and dissenter.
If only nations could learn to celebrate their shared humanity. Today the guns of Hezbollah and Ammal and other paramilitary groups are unseen and silent as they turn their energies to winning the contest of the ballot-box in September.
The pain of their victims will remain, but the talk and the travel is towards reconciliation and peace. Miracles, too, can happen in Ireland.
There was another sign of hope in the ordnance workshop in 87th Battalion HQ. We saw mortars, shells and landmines. Some were filled with anti-personnel grenades which in turn were filled with flechettes (nails). They made one shiver in the mideastern heat.
A sergeant showed a rough-hewn cross which he had fashioned out of the deadly pieces of metal, welded together and buffed. I held it for a moment. It was a terrible beauty, but a sign of hope. I realised that Jerusalem was not very far away.
Rev Ken Todd is President of The Methodist Church in Ireland