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Army Ranger Wing

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132-681: The Army Ranger Wing ( ARW ) ( Irish : Sciathán Fianóglach an Airm , " SFA ") is the special operations force of the Irish Defence Forces , the military of Ireland . In late 2023, it was reported that the unit was to be renamed the Ireland Special Operations Force (IRL-SOF). It is a branch of the Irish Army , it also selects personnel from the Naval Service and Air Corps . It serves at

264-659: A bomb shelter in every building and school, but also deploying active protection systems such as the Arrow ABM , Iron Dome and David's Sling , which intercept the incoming threat in the air. Iron Dome has successfully intercepted hundreds of Qassam rockets and Grad rockets fired by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. A more sophisticated target-hardening approach must consider industrial and other critical industrial infrastructure that could be attacked. Terrorists do not need to import chemical weapons if they can cause

396-547: A unique dialect of Irish developed before falling out of use in the early 20th century. With a writing system , Ogham , dating back to at least the 4th century AD, which was gradually replaced by Latin script since the 5th century AD, Irish has one of the oldest vernacular literatures in Western Europe . On the island, the language has three major dialects: Connacht , Munster and Ulster Irish . All three have distinctions in their speech and orthography . There

528-546: A 65 lb combat load in the Dublin & Wicklow mountain range. On average candidates get between four and five hours sleep per night. Officer and senior NCO candidates are subjected to separate, rigorous scrutiny of their planning and decision-making skills to determine their suitability. The length of Module 1 is 3 weeks similar to the previous selection course length. Typically 85% of candidates fail Module 1. Between 2000 and 2005, approximately 240 attempted selection, including

660-451: A German-led ISTAR Task Force, benefiting from the protections and medical support in place for the larger force. 14 ARW operators are reported to be involved per rotation. MINUSMA is the most dangerous UN peacekeeping mission. As of October 2019, 204 peacekeepers had been killed out of a total of 15,000 deployed uniformed personnel. It is the first overseas operational deployment for the ARW as

792-717: A bargaining chip during government formation in Northern Ireland, prompting protests from organisations and groups such as An Dream Dearg . Irish became an official language of the EU on 1 January 2007, meaning that MEPs with Irish fluency can now speak the language in the European Parliament and at committees, although in the case of the latter they have to give prior notice to a simultaneous interpreter in order to ensure that what they say can be interpreted into other languages. While an official language of

924-575: A better future for Ireland and all her citizens." The Strategy was produced on 21 December 2010 and will stay in action until 2030; it aims to target language vitality and revitalization of the Irish language. The 30-page document published by the Government of Ireland details the objectives it plans to work towards in an attempt to preserve and promote both the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. It

1056-687: A ceasefire in the Baidoa region. Over 100 Irish troops took part in the mission. On one regular return journey, from protecting a food convoy/supply run to Mogadishu , Irish and Indian UN troops were ambushed by insurgents. Following an intense firefight, there were more than 10 enemies killed with no Irish or Indian fatalities reported. Following this, the Irish contingent was supplied with armoured vehicles as they had previously been relying on soft-skinned vehicles mounted with heavy calibre machine guns. In October 1999, No 1 IRCON (Irish Contingent), an ARW platoon of 30 Rangers deployed to East Timor as part of

1188-740: A counter-terrorist capability following an increase in international and national terrorism, such as the 1972 Munich massacre in Germany (then West Germany ) and a number of hostage-takings by the Provisional IRA (such as the Balcombe Street siege ). The Army Ranger Wing (ARW) was formally established, in accordance with the Defence Act, by Government order on 16 March 1980. The ARW received its colours in 1981; Black, Red and Gold, signifying Secrecy, Risk and Excellence. In 1991,

1320-478: A cultural and social force. Irish speakers often insisted on using the language in law courts (even when they knew English), and Irish was also common in commercial transactions. The language was heavily implicated in the "devotional revolution" which marked the standardisation of Catholic religious practice and was also widely used in a political context. Down to the time of the Great Famine and even afterwards,

1452-470: A defined radius. Training is carried out nationwide at a number of Department of Defence properties, including Lynch Camp in Kilworth , County Cork . The ARW is on immediate call 24/7, 365 days a year for operations throughout the state and abroad. The ARW is on 96 hours' notice to deploy overseas on special operations. The ARW is on a 1-hour alert for anti-terrorist operations to deploy anywhere on land in

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1584-553: A degree course in the NUI federal system to pass the subject of Irish in the Leaving Certificate or GCE / GCSE examinations. Exemptions are made from this requirement for students who were born or completed primary education outside of Ireland, and students diagnosed with dyslexia . NUI Galway is required to appoint people who are competent in the Irish language, as long as they are also competent in all other aspects of

1716-455: A female, with 50 successful. Modules 2 to 4 consist of assessment and training in weapons and marksmanship, live-fire tactical training, special operations tactics, techniques, and procedures (green role) and counter-terrorism tactics, techniques, and procedures (black role), combat water survival, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Extraction (SERE), communications and medical training. Upon successful completion of Module 3, candidates are awarded

1848-648: A four-month deployment followed by No 2 IRCON. In February 2000, INTERFET handed over command of military operations to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). No 2 IRCON completed its four-month deployment in June 2000 with subsequent rotations from infantry platoons. The Battalion Group had several contacts (firefights) and a number of incidents with threat forces sustaining no casualties. The ARW

1980-460: A fully recognised EU language for the first time in the state's history. Before Irish became an official language it was afforded the status of treaty language and only the highest-level documents of the EU were made available in Irish. The Irish language was carried abroad in the modern period by a vast diaspora , chiefly to Great Britain and North America, but also to Australia , New Zealand and Argentina . The first large movements began in

2112-679: A large number of aircraft to land or take off. Three Irish aircraft were involved in the operation. In October 2019 it was reported that the ARW were deployed to the Syrian border to extract Lisa Smith - a former Irish Army soldier who converted to Islam before fleeing Ireland to join ISIS - and her two-year-old child in a Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) after the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria resulted in Kurdish-held ISIS prisoners escaping, including Smith, although

2244-523: A major industrial accident such as the Bhopal disaster or the Halifax Explosion . Industrial chemicals in manufacturing, shipping, and storage thus require greater protection, and some efforts are in progress. Equipping likely targets with containers of pig lard has been used to discourage attacks by suicide bombers. The technique was apparently used on a limited scale by British authorities in

2376-624: A national response might be required for a nuclear, biological, radiological, or significant chemical attack. Fire departments , perhaps supplemented by public works agencies, utility providers, and heavy construction contractors, are most apt to deal with the physical consequences of an attack. Again under an incident command model, local police can isolate the incident area, reducing confusion, and specialized police units can conduct tactical operations against terrorists, often using specialized counterterrorist tactical units. Bringing in such units will typically involve civil or military authority beyond

2508-585: A paper suggested that within a generation, non-Gaeltacht habitual users of Irish might typically be members of an urban, middle class, and highly educated minority. Parliamentary legislation is supposed to be available in both Irish and English but is frequently only available in English. This is notwithstanding that Article 25.4 of the Constitution of Ireland requires that an "official translation" of any law in one official language be provided immediately in

2640-575: A pass in Leaving Certificate Irish or English, and receive lessons in Irish during their two years of training. Official documents of the Irish government must be published in both Irish and English or Irish alone (in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003, enforced by An Coimisinéir Teanga , the Irish language ombudsman). The National University of Ireland requires all students wishing to embark on

2772-625: A religious context. An Irish translation of the Old Testament by Leinsterman Muircheartach Ó Cíonga , commissioned by Bishop Bedell , was published after 1685 along with a translation of the New Testament. Otherwise, Anglicisation was seen as synonymous with 'civilising' the native Irish. Currently, modern day Irish speakers in the church are pushing for language revival. It has been estimated that there were around 800,000 monoglot Irish speakers in 1800, which dropped to 320,000 by

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2904-637: A section on confronting terrorism in the recommendations in the Madrid Agenda arising from the Madrid Summit on Democracy and Terrorism (Madrid March 8–11, 2005): Democratic principles and values are essential tools in the fight against terrorism. Any successful strategy for dealing with terrorism requires terrorists to be isolated. Consequently, the preference must be to treat terrorism as criminal acts to be handled through existing systems of law enforcement and with full respect for human rights and

3036-712: A security-cleared Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation , whose often influential reports are submitted to Parliament and published in full. One of the primary difficulties of implementing effective counterterrorist measures is the waning of civil liberties and individual privacy that such measures often entail, both for citizens of, and for those detained by states attempting to combat terror. At times, measures designed to tighten security have been seen as abuses of power or even violations of human rights. Examples of these problems can include prolonged, incommunicado detention without judicial review or long periods of 'preventive detention'; risk of subjecting to torture during

3168-509: A small team of DFA diplomats to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul in order to evacuate Irish citizens. The options available to the Irish government to extract its citizens were hampered by Ireland's lack of an organic strategic airlift capability . The mission ended on 26 August, just 48 hours after the team touched down in Kabul and resulted in the evacuation of 26 Irish citizens. It

3300-679: A specialist team such as combat diving team, free fall parachuting team and sniping team. An example of an operational task unit is the Special Operations Maritime Task Unit (SOMTU). Support elements provide expertise in bomb disposal , medical treatment, maritime and aviation operations. The Army Ranger Wing is headquartered at the Defence Forces Training Centre (DFTC) in the Curragh Camp, with Army Rangers required to live within

3432-425: A unit, in ten years. In February 2020, three ARW personnel were injured when an IED blast hit the armoured patrol vehicle they were travelling in, 70 km east of Gao . The personnel were airlifted to hospital but after two weeks were reported to be "back to work". In October 2005, Rangers and Arabic -speaking intelligence officers from Military Intelligence (J2) were deployed to Baghdad , Iraq , following

3564-545: A wider meaning, including the Gaelic of Scotland and the Isle of Man , as well as of Ireland. When required by the context, these are distinguished as Gaeilge na hAlban , Gaeilge Mhanann and Gaeilge na hÉireann respectively. In English (including Hiberno-English ), the language is usually referred to as Irish , as well as Gaelic and Irish Gaelic . The term Irish Gaelic may be seen when English speakers discuss

3696-479: Is Sciathán Fianóglach an Airm in the Irish language which translates into English as "Army Ranger Wing". Fianóglach (representing "Ranger") is an amalgamation of two Irish words. Fiann is closest to the word "warrior", and refers to the ancient band of warriors known as Na Fianna in Irish mythology . Óglach literally means "young soldier", and is often translated as '"volunteer". Use in this context refers to

3828-490: Is a great challenge with the security of cell-based systems, since the ideal, but the nearly impossible, goal is to obtain a clandestine source within the cell. Financial tracking can play a role, as a communications intercept . However, both of these approaches need to be balanced against legitimate expectations of privacy. In response to the growing legislation. Since 1978 the UK's terrorism laws have been regularly reviewed by

3960-452: Is also An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , a standardised written form devised by a parliamentary commission in the 1950s. The traditional Irish alphabet , a variant of the Latin alphabet with 18 letters , has been succeeded by the standard Latin alphabet (albeit with 7–8 letters used primarily in loanwords ). Irish has constitutional status as the national and first official language of

4092-511: Is divided into four separate phases with the intention of improving 9 main areas of action including: The general goal for this strategy was to increase the number of daily speakers from 83,000 to 250,000 by the end of its run. By 2022, the number of such speakers had fallen to 71,968. Before the partition of Ireland in 1921, Irish was recognised as a school subject and as "Celtic" in some third level institutions. Between 1921 and 1972, Northern Ireland had devolved government. During those years

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4224-535: Is equipped with SINCGAR ITT , Harris and Racal communications equipment, which have an inbuilt encryption and frequency-hopping systems. It is also equipped with satellite communications, through the ARW C3 (Command, Control & Communications) function and in cooperation with the Communications and Information Services Corps (CIS). This means ARW teams can communicate with their GHQ from anywhere in

4356-730: Is not uncommon for some to spend 15 years in the unit. The ARW has its own purpose-built tactical training facilities, including shooting ranges, kill houses and various urban and rural settings. The main facility is known as "Tac Town", based in the Curragh . Other ranges are located in County Wicklow . These facilities are also made available to the ERU . The ARW has trained with other military and law enforcement special operations forces, including; The ARW and ERU train specifically for marauding terrorist firearms/explosive attacks. In 2015,

4488-587: Is only in Gaeltacht areas that Irish continues to be spoken as a community vernacular to some extent. According to data compiled by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht , Sport and Media , only 1/4 of households in Gaeltacht areas are fluent in Irish. The author of a detailed analysis of the survey, Donncha Ó hÉallaithe of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology , described

4620-448: Is sometimes directed to specific ethnic or religious groups, which are the sources of political conversy. Mass surveillance of an entire population raises objections on civil liberties grounds. Domestic terrorists , especially lone wolves , are often harder to detect because of their citizenship or legal status and ability to stay under the radar. To select the effective action when terrorism appears to be more of an isolated event,

4752-412: Is still spoken daily to some extent as a first language . These regions are known individually and collectively as the Gaeltacht (plural Gaeltachtaí ). While the fluent Irish speakers of these areas, whose numbers have been estimated at 20–30,000, are a minority of the total number of fluent Irish speakers, they represent a higher concentration of Irish speakers than other parts of the country and it

4884-423: Is the uncertainty of the future: the threat of terrorism may increase, decrease or remain the same, the type of terrorism and location are difficult to predict, and there are technological uncertainties. A potential solution is to incorporate engineering flexibility into system design, allowing for flexibility when new information arrives. Flexibility can be incorporated in the design of a counter-terrorism system in

5016-461: Is to directly engage terrorists and prevent terrorist attacks. Such units perform both in preventive actions, hostage rescue, and responding to ongoing attacks. Countries of all sizes can have highly trained counterterrorist teams. Tactics, techniques, and procedures for manhunting are under constant development. These units are specially trained in military tactics and are equipped for close-quarters combat , with emphasis on stealth and performing

5148-446: Is to place hostile vehicle mitigation to enforce protective standoff distance outside tall or politically sensitive buildings to prevent car bombings . Another way to reduce the impact of attacks is to design buildings for rapid evacuation. Aircraft cockpits are kept locked during flights and have reinforced doors, which only the pilots in the cabin are capable of opening. UK railway stations removed their garbage bins in response to

5280-446: Is very large in physical terms and in other dimensions, such as type and degree of terrorist threats, political and diplomatic ramifications, and legal concerns. Ideal counterterrorist systems use technology to enable persistent intelligence , surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and potential actions. Designing such a system-of-systems comprises a major technological project. A particular design problem for counterterrorist systems

5412-721: The Fíor-Ghaeltacht (true Gaeltacht ), a term originally officially applied to areas where over 50% of the population spoke Irish. There are Gaeltacht regions in the following counties: Gweedore ( Gaoth Dobhair ), County Donegal, is the largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland. Irish language summer colleges in the Gaeltacht are attended by tens of thousands of teenagers annually. Students live with Gaeltacht families, attend classes, participate in sports, go to céilithe and are obliged to speak Irish. All aspects of Irish culture and tradition are encouraged. The Act

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5544-579: The 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Regiment (1 RNZIR) Battalion Group together with an infantry company from the Canadian 3rd Battalion, Royal 22 Regiment bringing the battalion to full strength. The Battalion Group based in Suai was responsible for securing the south-west of the country from pro-Indonesian militia and Indonesian military (TNI) that included a long section of the border between East and Indonesian controlled West Timor . No 1 IRCON completed

5676-531: The European Union Force Chad/CAR based at Camp Croci. The ARW was an Initial Entry Force together with other EUFOR special forces that conducted special reconnaissance within the Irish assigned south eastern Chad area of operations. The ARW was later based at Multi-National Base-South at Goz Beïda known as Camp Ciara in the area of operations providing security during the construction of the base. The ARW conducted vehicle patrols along

5808-531: The Fianóglach shoulder tab and are provisionally assigned to the unit. Upon successful completion of Module 4, candidates are awarded the distinctive ARW green beret. Module 5 Continuation training is the conclusion of the SOFQ course, and candidates are posted to an operational ARW task unit as an assault team operator. 3 Star Privates (and equivalents) who are successful in completing the SOFQ course pass out at

5940-602: The Garda Síochána (national police) specialist armed intervention unit, the Emergency Response Unit (ERU). The Army Ranger Wing roles are divided between wartime special operations ("Green Role") and anti-terrorism ("Black Role"), the latter known formally as military Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP): Offensive operations behind enemy lines Defensive operations The unit's official name

6072-542: The International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) to restore peace and security following the independence referendum in August. The Australian-led mission had begun nearly a month earlier with an allied special forces coalition of Australian Special Air Service, New Zealand Special Air Service and British Special Boat Service (SBS) armed Response Force. No 1 IRCON was embedded in the reconnaissance company in

6204-856: The Malayan Emergency , the Mau Mau uprising , and most of the campaigns against the IRA during the Irish Civil War , the S-Plan , the Border Campaign , and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Although military action can temporarily disrupt a terrorist group's operations temporarily, it sometimes does not end the threat completely. Repression by the military in itself usually leads to short term victories, but tend to be unsuccessful in

6336-673: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (the Republic of Ireland is not a member of NATO, due to its policy of military neutrality ). Individual deployments include Lebanon , Bosnia , Cyprus , Iraq and Western Sahara . The ARW's first deployment overseas was in Somalia in 1993 as part of UNOSOM II where a number of teams joined the United States -led peacekeeping coalition tasked with imposing

6468-797: The Provisional IRA threat, as convenient locations for depositing bombs. Scottish stations removed theirs after the 7 July 2005 London Bombings as a precautionary measure. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority purchased bomb-resistant barriers after the September 11 attacks. Due to frequent shelling of Israel's cities, towns, and settlements by artillery rockets from the Gaza Strip (mainly by Hamas , but also by other Palestinian factions) and Lebanon (mainly by Hezbollah ), Israel has developed several defensive measures against artillery, rockets, and missiles. These include building

6600-631: The Republic of Ireland , and is also an official language of Northern Ireland and among the official languages of the European Union . The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island. Irish has no regulatory body but An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , the standard written form, is guided by a parliamentary service and new vocabulary by a voluntary committee with university input. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil ("The Official [Written] Standard ")

6732-539: The Special Operations Force Qualification Course (SOFQ). The SOFQ is conducted over 10 months (40 weeks). The Selection Course had been conducted over 3 weeks after being reduced in 2006 from 4 weeks. The Basic Skills course had been conducted over 5 months. The SOFQ is divided into 5 modules: Module 1 assesses a candidate's level of physical fitness, motivation and suitability to progress on towards further modules (2-5) of

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6864-634: The 17th century, largely as a result of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , which saw many Irish sent to the West Indies . Irish emigration to the United States was well established by the 18th century, and was reinforced in the 1840s by thousands fleeing from the Famine . This flight also affected Britain. Up until that time most emigrants spoke Irish as their first language, though English

6996-472: The 1940s. The approach stems from the idea that Muslims perpetrating the attack would not want to be "soiled" by the lard in the moment before dying. The idea has been suggested more recently as a deterrent to suicide bombings in Israel. However, the actual effectiveness of this tactic is likely limited. A sympathetic Islamic scholar could issue a fatwa proclaiming that a suicide bomber would not be polluted by

7128-789: The 1998 Good Friday Agreement , the language gradually received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, and then, in 2003, by the British government's ratification in respect of the language of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . In the 2006 St Andrews Agreement the British government promised to enact legislation to promote the language and in 2022 it approved legislation to recognise Irish as an official language alongside English. The bill received royal assent on 6 December 2022. The Irish language has often been used as

7260-400: The 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of

7392-762: The 20th and 21st centuries are listed below. See list of hostage crises for a more extended list, including hostage-takings that did not end violently. Sea , south of the French coast ; subsequently Mogadishu International Airport , Somalia March 30, the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore attack – 8 gunmen, 8 police personnel and 2 civilians killed, 95 people injured, 4 gunmen captured. Plaza Cinema Chowk attack – 16 police officers, an army officer and unknown number of civilians killed. As many as 251 people injured. The scope for counterterrorism systems

7524-403: The 6th century, used the Latin alphabet and is attested primarily in marginalia to Latin manuscripts. During this time, the Irish language absorbed some Latin words, some via Old Welsh , including ecclesiastical terms : examples are easpag (bishop) from episcopus , and Domhnach (Sunday, from dominica ). By the 10th century, Old Irish had evolved into Middle Irish , which

7656-479: The ARW have trained Arctic survival specialists. Besides sanctioned international military missions, the unit may be deployed overseas to protect Irish diplomatic missions and diplomats (particularly in times of war or civil unrest in host countries), to provide close protection to members of the Irish government travelling overseas, to rescue kidnapped Irish citizens, to extract citizens in hostile or conflict zones , or to conduct intelligence operations. The ARW

7788-624: The ARW was granted permission to wear the Green beret. In April 2017, it was reported that there had been no increase in the strength of the ARW despite the 2015 White Paper's aim to considerably increase the strength of the unit. On 16 January 2022, there were recommendations made for some ARW operators to be based in Cork to work alongside their colleagues in the Naval Service in improving its maritime anti-terrorism capabilities. In January 2022,

7920-466: The Act all detailing different aspects of the use of Irish in official documentation and communication. Included in these sections are subjects such as Irish language use in official courts, official publications, and placenames. The Act was recently amended in December 2019 in order to strengthen the already preexisting legislation. All changes made took into account data collected from online surveys and written submissions. The Official Languages Scheme

8052-653: The Chad / Sudan border in their Ford F-350 Special Reconnaissance Vehicles. The ARW mission ended in June 2008 with the arrival of the 97th Infantry Battalion. In June 2019, Dáil Éireann approved sending an ARW Task Unit and staff officers to the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali ( MINUSMA ) in intelligence and operational roles, on 4-month rotations for two years. The ARW were deployed in response to an upsurge in violence in north-eastern Mali, led by militants affiliated with al-Qaeda. The Irish contingent were primarily tasked with conducting long-range reconnaissance patrols (LRRP) and deployed as part of

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8184-489: The Defence Forces or Irish government did not confirm this. ARW personnel were in plainclothes and "discreetly armed" for protection purposes. Smith was repatriated to Dublin Airport where she was arrested by Gardai and charged with terrorism offences. On 23 August 2021 in the aftermath of the Fall of Kabul to the Taliban , Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Coveney approved the deployment of an Emergency Consular Assistance Team (ECAT) comprising ARW personnel and

8316-404: The European Union , only co-decision regulations were available until 2022, due to a five-year derogation, requested by the Irish Government when negotiating the language's new official status. The Irish government had committed itself to train the necessary number of translators and interpreters and to bear the related costs. This derogation ultimately came to an end on 1 January 2022, making Irish

8448-428: The Garda Síochána formed a counter-terrorist unit named the Special Task Force (STF) to operate in border regions that was later to become the Emergency Response Unit. Following an assessment of the SAG, and Rangers receiving training from the M-Squadron , an elite counter-terrorism (CT) branch of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps , in 1978 it was decided to consolidate the Rangers into a new special forces unit with

8580-402: The Irish Defence Forces signed agreements with their British counterparts to deepen joint special forces peacekeeping co-operation, extending from previous deployments with British special forces in a number of combat zones. Rangers have seen active service in a number of peacekeeping missions around the world with the United Nations, European Union (EU) and Partnership for Peace (PfP) of

8712-425: The Irish language policy followed by Irish governments as a "complete and absolute disaster". The Irish Times , referring to his analysis published in the Irish language newspaper Foinse , quoted him as follows: "It is an absolute indictment of successive Irish Governments that at the foundation of the Irish State there were 250,000 fluent Irish speakers living in Irish-speaking or semi Irish-speaking areas, but

8844-424: The Republic of Ireland ), new appointees to the Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland , including postal workers , tax collectors , agricultural inspectors, Garda Síochána (police), etc., were required to have some proficiency in Irish. By law, a Garda who was addressed in Irish had to respond in Irish as well. In 1974, in part through the actions of protest organisations like the Language Freedom Movement ,

8976-417: The Republic of Ireland using Air Corps aircraft and up to 200 miles out to sea via the Naval Service vessels. In the event of a major terrorist, hijacking or hostage incident, the ARW may be called to aid the Garda ERU , and in the past, they have been put on standby to assist the Irish Prison Service during major prison riots . The unit has on occasion been tasked for search and rescue (SAR) operations, as

9108-452: The SOFQ course similar to the previous selection course. Candidates must pass a series of fitness assessments, map reading and individual navigation assessments, claustrophobia, water confidence, and psychometric testing. The final phase of Module 1 includes individual navigation exercises with set weights over unknown distances and completion times which can be over 250 km, culminating in an additional 65 km cross-country march carrying

9240-418: The United Kingdom and elsewhere. The International Conference of Rome for the Social Defense Against Anarchists has been identified as the first international conference against terrorism. The first tactical counterterrorist unit was GSG 9 of the German Federal Police , formed in response to the 1972 Munich massacre . Counterterrorist forces expanded with the perceived growing threat of terrorism in

9372-594: The United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia have taken this approach, while Western European states generally do not. Another major method of preemptive neutralization is the interrogation of known or suspected terrorists to obtain information about specific plots, targets, the identity of other terrorists, whether or not the interrogation subjects himself is guilty of terrorist involvement. Sometimes more extreme methods are used to increase suggestibility , such as sleep deprivation or drugs. Such methods may lead captives to offer false information in an attempt to stop

9504-491: The abduction of Irish journalist Rory Carroll by al-Qaeda -affiliated militants. Following negotiations with Irish, British and American government representatives, Rory Carroll was released unharmed days later and returned safely to Ireland. In 2009, the ARW were involved in the evacuation of GOAL aid worker Sharon Commins who was kidnapped by Janjaweed in Darfur, Sudan for more than 100 days before being released, although

9636-449: The above-mentioned Munich massacre. Most counterterrorism strategies involve an increase in policing and domestic intelligence gathering. Central techniques include intercepting communications and location tracking . New technology has expanded the range of military and law enforcement options for intelligence gathering. Many countries increasingly employ facial recognition systems in policing. Domestic intelligence gathering

9768-539: The appropriate government organizations need to understand the source, motivation, methods of preparation, and tactics of terrorist groups. Good intelligence is at the heart of such preparation, as well as a political and social understanding of any grievances that might be solved. Ideally, one gets information from inside the group, a very difficult challenge for human intelligence operations because operational terrorist cells are often small, with all members known to one another, perhaps even related. Counterintelligence

9900-693: The beginning of the following academic year. For a number of years there has been vigorous debate in political, academic and other circles about the failure of most students in English-medium schools to achieve competence in Irish, even after fourteen years of teaching as one of the three main subjects. The concomitant decline in the number of traditional native speakers has also been a cause of great concern. In 2007, filmmaker Manchán Magan found few Irish speakers in Dublin , and faced incredulity when trying to get by speaking only Irish in Dublin. He

10032-628: The behest of the Defence Forces and Government of Ireland , operating internally and overseas, and reports directly to the Chief of Staff . The ARW was established in 1980 with the primary role of counter terrorism and evolved to both special operations and counter-terrorism roles from 2000 after the end of conflict in Northern Ireland . The unit is based in the Curragh Camp , County Kildare . The 2015 White Paper on Defence announced that

10164-485: The effective inclusion of human rights protection as a crucial element in that cooperation. They argue that international human rights obligations do not stop at borders, and a failure to respect human rights in one state may undermine its effectiveness in the global effort to cooperate to combat terrorism. Some countries see preemptive attacks as a legitimate strategy. This includes capturing, killing, or disabling suspected terrorists before they can mount an attack. Israel,

10296-474: The end of the famine, and under 17,000 by 1911. Irish is recognised by the Constitution of Ireland as the national and first official language of Republic of Ireland (English being the other official language). Despite this, almost all government business and legislative debate is conducted in English. In 1938, the founder of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League), Douglas Hyde , was inaugurated as

10428-550: The enduring underlying inequalities which fuel terrorist activity. Causal factors need to be delineated and measures implemented which allow equal access to resources and sustainability for all people. Such activities empower citizens, providing "freedom from fear" and "freedom from want". This can take many forms, including the provision of clean drinking water, education, vaccination programs, provision of food and shelter and protection from violence, military or otherwise. Successful human security campaigns have been characterized by

10560-473: The ex-ARW operator turned politician Cathal Berry said that he backed proposals to rename the unit as the 'Ireland Special Operations Force' (ISOF). The Officer Commanding the Army Ranger Wing is responsible for the administrative, disciplinary and operational control of the unit, and is in turn directly under the command of the Chief of Staff at Defence Forces Headquarters (DFHQ). Information on

10692-614: The family and is indigenous to the island of Ireland . It was the majority of the population's first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as a result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022

10824-560: The first President of Ireland . The record of his delivering his inaugural Declaration of Office in Roscommon Irish is one of only a few recordings of that dialect. In the 2016 census, 10.5% of respondents stated that they spoke Irish, either daily or weekly, while over 70,000 people (4.2%) speak it as a habitual daily means of communication. From the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 (see History of

10956-575: The form of options that can be exercised in the future when new information is available. While some countries with longstanding terrorism problems have law enforcement agencies primarily designed to prevent and respond to terror attacks, in other nations, counterterrorism is a relatively more recent objective of law enforcement agencies. Though some civil libertarians and criminal justice scholars have criticized efforts of law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism as futile and expensive or as threats to civil liberties, other scholars have analyzed

11088-654: The government denied the involvement of the ARW at the time. With the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and the Libyan Civil War , the ARW, Air Corps and other Defence Forces assets were deployed in order to evacuate upwards of 115 Irish citizens from the country, mainly via the capital Tripoli . The ARW operated out of the British diplomatic mission in Malta. It was reported at the time that Irish officials printed fake boarding passes in order to bypass "tight" security at Tripoli airport, where authorities refused to allow

11220-716: The language family, is derived from the Old Irish term. Endonyms of the language in the various modern Irish dialects include: Gaeilge [ˈɡeːlʲɟə] in Galway, Gaeilg / Gaeilic / Gaeilig [ˈɡeːlʲəc] in Mayo and Ulster , Gaelainn / Gaoluinn [ˈɡeːl̪ˠən̠ʲ] in West/Cork, Kerry Munster , as well as Gaedhealaing in mid and East Kerry/Cork and Waterford Munster to reflect local pronunciation. Gaeilge also has

11352-410: The language was in use by all classes, Irish being an urban as well as a rural language. This linguistic dynamism was reflected in the efforts of certain public intellectuals to counter the decline of the language. At the end of the 19th century, they launched the Gaelic revival in an attempt to encourage the learning and use of Irish, although few adult learners mastered the language. The vehicle of

11484-425: The language. For most of recorded Irish history , Irish was the dominant language of the Irish people , who took it with them to other regions , such as Scotland and the Isle of Man , where Middle Irish gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx . It was also, for a period, spoken widely across Canada , with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890. On the island of Newfoundland ,

11616-621: The late 20th century. After the September 11 attacks , Western governments made counterterrorism efforts a priority. This included more extensive collaboration with foreign governments, shifting tactics involving red teams , and preventive measures. Although terrorist attacks affecting Western countries generally receive a disproportionately large share of media attention, most terrorism occurs in less developed countries. Government responses to terrorism, in some cases, tend to lead to substantial unintended consequences, such as what occurred in

11748-635: The local level. Emergency medical services are capable of triaging, treating, and transporting the more severely affected individuals to hospitals, which typically have mass casualty and triage plans in place for terrorist attacks. Public health agencies , from local to the national level, may be designated to deal with identification, and sometimes mitigation, of possible biological attacks, and sometimes chemical or radiological contamination. Many countries have dedicated counterterrorist units trained to handle terrorist threats. Besides various security agencies , there are police tactical units whose role

11880-477: The long run (e.g., the French doctrine used in colonial Indochina and Algeria ), particularly if it is not accompanied by other measures. However, new methods such as those taken in Iraq have yet to be seen as beneficial or ineffectual. Whatever the target of terrorists, there are multiple ways of hardening the targets to prevent the terrorists from hitting their mark, or reducing the damage of attacks. One method

12012-520: The mid-18th century, English was becoming a language of the Catholic middle class, the Catholic Church and public intellectuals, especially in the east of the country. Increasingly, as the value of English became apparent, parents sanctioned the prohibition of Irish in schools. Increasing interest in emigrating to the United States and Canada was also a driver, as fluency in English allowed

12144-453: The mission with minimal casualties. The units include assault teams, snipers , EOD experts, dog handlers, and intelligence officers. Most of these measures deal with terrorist attacks that affect an area or threaten to do so, or are lengthy situations such as shootouts and hostage takings that allow the counterterrorist units to assemble and respond; it is harder to deal with shorter incidents such as assassinations or reprisal attacks, due to

12276-585: The most important dimensions of the policing of terrorism as an important dimension of counter-terrorism, especially in the post-9/11 era, and have discussed how police view terrorism as a matter of crime control. Such analyses highlight the civilian police role in counterterrorism next to the military model of a war on terror . Pursuant to passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 , federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies began to systemically reorganize. Two primary federal agencies,

12408-538: The name of the Defence Forces in Irish: Óglaigh na hÉireann ("Irish Volunteers"). Na Fianna were purportedly expert warriors, so the addition of the word Fiann before Óglaigh denotes an elite element to the unit. The shoulder flash insignia of the unit uses Fianóglach . The motto of the Army Ranger Wing is taken from an old Fianna poem, in Irish it is: "Glaine ár gcroí, Neart ár ngéag, Agus beart de réir ár mbriathar" , which translates as: "The purity of our hearts,

12540-804: The name of the language is Gaeilge , from the South Connacht form, spelled Gaedhilge prior the spelling reform of 1948, which was originally the genitive of Gaedhealg , the form used in Classical Gaelic . The modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent ⟨dh⟩ in Gaedhilge . Older spellings include Gaoidhealg [ˈɡeːʝəlˠəɡ] in Classical Gaelic and Goídelc [ˈɡoiðʲelɡ] in Old Irish . Goidelic , used to refer to

12672-469: The new immigrants to get jobs in areas other than farming. An estimated one quarter to one third of US immigrants during the Great Famine were Irish speakers. Irish was not marginal to Ireland's modernisation in the 19th century, as is often assumed. In the first half of the century there were still around three million people for whom Irish was the primary language, and their numbers alone made them

12804-655: The number now is between 20,000 and 30,000." In the 1920s, when the Irish Free State was founded, Irish was still a vernacular in some western coastal areas. In the 1930s, areas where more than 25% of the population spoke Irish were classified as Gaeltacht . Today, the strongest Gaeltacht areas, numerically and socially, are those of South Connemara , the west of the Dingle Peninsula , and northwest Donegal, where many residents still use Irish as their primary language. These areas are often referred to as

12936-566: The numerical strength of the unit and the identity of its personnel is restricted. Estimates variously put the strength at "well over a hundred" or between 140 and 150 personnel. In 2015, the Defence White Paper announced an increase in strength with reports of the unit doubling in size. The Wing is divided into operational task units each comprising several assault teams relative to each operator's area of speciality. After serving one year in an assault team an operator can apply to join

13068-503: The other official language, if not already passed in both official languages. In November 2016, RTÉ reported that over 2.3 million people worldwide were learning Irish through the Duolingo app. Irish president Michael D. Higgins officially honoured several volunteer translators for developing the Irish edition, and said the push for Irish language rights remains an "unfinished project". There are rural areas of Ireland where Irish

13200-411: The participation of a diverse group of actors, including governments, NGOs , and citizens. Foreign internal defense programs provide outside expert assistance to a threatened government. FID can involve both non-military and military aspects of counterterrorism. A 2017 study found that "governance and civil society aid is effective in dampening domestic terrorism, but this effect is only present if

13332-557: The political party holding power in the Stormont Parliament , the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was hostile to the language. The context of this hostility was the use of the language by nationalists. In broadcasting, there was an exclusion on the reporting of minority cultural issues, and Irish was excluded from radio and television for almost the first fifty years of the previous devolved government. After

13464-421: The practices, military tactics , techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement , businesses, and intelligence agencies use to combat or eliminate terrorism . If an act of terrorism occurs as part of a broader insurgency (and insurgency is included in the definition of terrorism ) then counterterrorism may additionally employ counterinsurgency measures. The United States Armed Forces uses

13596-492: The rank of Acting Corporal , and the lowest commissioned rank in the unit is that of Captain . All candidates must successfully complete the basic parachute course of five (5) static line jumps from 3,000 feet using T10 round canopies. As of 2012, it was reported that since the unit's inception fewer than 400 had completed training to become a Ranger. Further specialist training courses for Rangers include advanced combat medical skills, military freefall, combat diving (taught by

13728-399: The rank of at least 3 Star Private (or equivalent). There is no age limit to attempt selection. Selection has been open to females since 1984, however, none have been successful. Usually 40 to 80 candidates attempt selection annually. The ARW recently revised its selection and assessment procedures combining the previous Selection course & Basic Skills course into a new single course named

13860-492: The rebel forces, including their commander. The incident, which resulted in no Irish casualties, drew praise from the international community and boosted the reputation of the ARW worldwide. Ranger Sergeant Derek Mooney (33) of Dublin , was killed when his vehicle was involved in a motor vehicle accident during a transport convoy. In February 2008, a Special Forces Task Group of 58 Rangers deployed to Abéché in Chad as part of

13992-413: The recipient country is not experiencing a civil conflict." Terrorism has often been used to justify military intervention in countries where terrorists are said to be based. Similar justifications were used for the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the second Russian invasion of Chechnya . Military intervention has not always been successful in stopping or preventing future terrorism, such as during

14124-492: The relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx). Gaelic is a collective term for the Goidelic languages, and when the context is clear it may be used without qualification to refer to each language individually. When the context is specific but unclear, the term may be qualified, as Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic or Manx Gaelic. Historically the name "Erse" ( / ɜːr s / URS )

14256-432: The requirement for entrance to the public service was changed to proficiency in just one official language. Nevertheless, Irish remains a required subject of study in all schools in the Republic of Ireland that receive public money (see Education in the Republic of Ireland ). Teachers in primary schools must also pass a compulsory examination called Scrúdú Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge . As of 2005, Garda Síochána recruits need

14388-647: The revival was the Gaelic League ( Conradh na Gaeilge ), and particular emphasis was placed on the folk tradition, which in Irish is particularly rich. Efforts were also made to develop journalism and a modern literature. Although it has been noted that the Catholic Church played a role in the decline of the Irish language before the Gaelic Revival, the Protestant Church of Ireland also made only minor efforts to encourage use of Irish in

14520-550: The rule of law. We recommend: (1) taking effective measures to make impunity impossible either for acts of terrorism or for the abuse of human rights in counter-terrorism measures. (2) the incorporation of human rights laws in all anti-terrorism programs and policies of national governments as well as international bodies." While international efforts to combat terrorism have focused on the need to enhance cooperation between states, proponents of human rights (as well as human security ) have suggested that more effort needs to be given to

14652-518: The short warning time and the quick exfiltration of the assassins. The majority of counterterrorism operations at the tactical level are conducted by state, federal, and national law enforcement or intelligence agencies . In some countries, the military may be called in as a last resort. For countries whose military is legally permitted to conduct domestic law enforcement operations, this is not an issue, and such counterterrorism operations are conducted by their military. Some counterterrorist actions of

14784-472: The specialist Naval Service Diving Section ) and boat handling, close protection and handling of advanced weapons. Prior to 2000 with The Troubles , approximately 85% of Ranger training had been dedicated to counter-terrorism . The average age of a Ranger is 31 years old with the eldest 44 years old. On average, a member of the ARW spends between 5 and 10 years serving with the unit before being returned to their home unit bringing their skills with them, but it

14916-638: The strength of our limbs and our commitment to our promise". In the late 1960s, the Defence Forces established 'Special Assault Groups' (SAG) in the Army to meet security challenges on the border with Northern Ireland . A number of Army officers attended the United States Army Ranger School in Fort Benning , Georgia who returned to conduct Army Ranger courses in Ireland with the first held in 1969. Among its founding officers

15048-488: The strength of the ARW would be considerably increased due to operational requirements at home and overseas. The unit has served abroad in a number of international peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions including in Somalia , East Timor , Liberia , Chad , and Mali . The ARW trains with special forces units around the world, particularly in Europe . The ARW in its domestic counter terrorism role trains and deploys with

15180-475: The swine products. For a threatened or completed terrorist attack, an Incident Command System (ICS) may be invoked to control the various services that may need to be involved in the response. ICS has varied levels of escalation, such as might be required for multiple incidents in a given area (e.g. 2005 London bombings or the 2004 Madrid train bombings ), or all the way to a National Response Plan invocation if national-level resources are needed. For example,

15312-719: The term " foreign internal defense " for programs that support other countries' attempts to suppress insurgency, lawlessness , or subversion , or to reduce the conditions under which threats to national security may develop. The first counterterrorism body to be formed was the Special Irish Branch of the Metropolitan Police , later renamed the Special Branch after it expanded its scope beyond its original focus on Fenian terrorism. Various law enforcement agencies established similar units in

15444-625: The transfer, return and extradition of people between or within countries; and the adoption of security measures that restrain the rights or freedoms of citizens and breach principles of non-discrimination. Examples include: Many argue that such violations of rights could exacerbate rather than counter the terrorist threat. Human rights activists argue for the crucial role of human rights protection as an intrinsic part to fight against terrorism. This suggests, as proponents of human security have long argued, that respecting human rights may indeed help us to incur security. Amnesty International included

15576-603: The treatment, or due to the confusion caused by it. In 1978 the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the Ireland v. United Kingdom case that such methods amounted to a practice of inhuman and degrading treatment , and that such practices were in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights Article 3 (art. 3). The human security paradigm outlines a non-military approach that aims to address

15708-675: The vacancy to which they are appointed. This requirement is laid down by the University College Galway Act, 1929 (Section 3). In 2016, the university faced controversy when it announced the planned appointment of a president who did not speak Irish. Misneach staged protests against this decision. The following year the university announced that Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh , a fluent Irish speaker, would be its 13th president. He assumed office in January 2018; in June 2024, he announced he would be stepping down as president at

15840-594: The work of such writers as Geoffrey Keating , is said to date from the 17th century, and was the medium of popular literature from that time on. From the 18th century on, the language lost ground in the east of the country. The reasons behind this shift were complex but came down to a number of factors: The change was characterised by diglossia (two languages being used by the same community in different social and economic situations) and transitional bilingualism (monoglot Irish-speaking grandparents with bilingual children and monoglot English-speaking grandchildren). By

15972-547: The world. The Army Ranger Wing Intelligence Section has the ability to remotely intercept electronic and telephonic communications, working with the Directorate of Military Intelligence (J2) and Army CIS Corps. Candidates must be serving members of the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF) from any of the three branches (Army, Air Corps or Naval Service). The candidate must be medically fit and have attained

16104-411: Was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within the education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to

16236-531: Was also sometimes used in Scots and then in English to refer to Irish; as well as Scottish Gaelic. Written Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD, a stage of the language known as Primitive Irish . These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. Primitive Irish underwent a change into Old Irish through the 5th century. Old Irish, dating from

16368-729: Was deployed in Liberia in the aftermath of the Second Liberian Civil War as part of a peacekeeping contingent of more than 400 troops from the Irish Army, in turn, part of the mixed Irish- Swedish Force Reserve Battalion of the United Nations mission in the country, UNMIL (2003). The ARW's area of operations (AO) was "all of Liberia", consisting of 4.7 million people and 111,369 sq km (43,000 sq mi). One of their most successful missions during this deployment

16500-668: Was enacted 1 July 2019 and is an 18-page document that adheres to the guidelines of the Official Languages Act 2003 . The purpose of the Scheme is to provide services through the mediums of Irish and/or English. According to the Department of the Taoiseach, it is meant to "develop a sustainable economy and a successful society, to pursue Ireland's interests abroad, to implement the Government's Programme and to build

16632-599: Was establishing itself as the primary language. Irish speakers had first arrived in Australia in the late 18th century as convicts and soldiers, and many Irish-speaking settlers followed, particularly in the 1860s. New Zealand also received some of this influx. Argentina was the only non-English-speaking country to receive large numbers of Irish emigrants, and there were few Irish speakers among them. Counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism ), also known as anti-terrorism , relates to

16764-629: Was later-to-be Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dermot Earley . Special Assault Groups were formed comprising 40 Rangers trained in all arms, engineering and ordnance techniques. By the mid-1970s, the Defence Forces had over 300 Rangers who conducted support operations on the request of the Garda Síochána. Students on these courses were selected from among all ranks and units of the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps. The courses improved standards of physical endurance, marksmanship, individual military skills and small unit tactics. In December 1977,

16896-523: Was passed 14 July 2003 with the main purpose of improving the number and quality of public services delivered in Irish by the government and other public bodies. Compliance with the Act is monitored by the An Coimisinéir Teanga (Irish Language Commissioner) which was established in 2004 and any complaints or concerns pertaining to the Act are brought to them. There are 35 sections included in

17028-661: Was reported the last members of the ECAT team left minutes after a deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport . Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family . It is a member of the Goidelic language group of the Insular Celtic sub branch of

17160-693: Was spoken throughout Ireland, Isle of Man and parts of Scotland . It is the language of a large corpus of literature, including the Ulster Cycle . From the 12th century, Middle Irish began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, into Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and into the Manx language in the Isle of Man . Early Modern Irish , dating from the 13th century, was the basis of the literary language of both Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland. Modern Irish, sometimes called Late Modern Irish, as attested in

17292-415: Was the rescue of a large group of civilians captured by gunmen from renegade Liberian forces. Acting on intelligence, a team of twenty heavily armed Rangers were dropped via helicopters at the town of "Gbapa". To avoid casualties among the hostages, the ARW implemented a policy of less-lethal intervention and, after surrounding a 40-foot container holding 35 hostages, rescued the innocent civilians and captured

17424-442: Was unable to accomplish some everyday tasks, as portrayed in his documentary No Béarla . There is, however, a growing body of Irish speakers in urban areas, particularly in Dublin. Many have been educated in schools in which Irish is the language of instruction. Such schools are known as Gaelscoileanna at primary level. These Irish-medium schools report some better outcomes for students than English-medium schools. In 2009,

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