Displaying items by tag: Medals for Migrant Rescue

17th October 2016

Medal for Navy Service Personnel On Humanitarian Operations Abroad

Minister of State with special responsibility for Defence Paul Kehoe presenting the new international operational service medals to Irish Navy Service personnel

#Medals - Personnel from Irish Defence Forces writes RTE, who have taken part in humanitarian operations abroad have been presented with a new medal in Rosslare Harbour.

Minister of State with special responsibility for Defence Paul Kehoe presented the new international operational service medals at a ceremony on Saturday (15 October) in the Co Wexford port.

Troops who were deployed to counter the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone and naval personnel who helped rescue over 3,000 people in the Mediterranean last year received the award.

Among those receiving medals today were 54 members of the permanent Defence Force who served on board the Irish Naval Service flagship LÉ Eithne from May to July in 2015.

Also awarded the medal were five members of the Army personnel who served in Sierra Leone fight against Ebola.

This was the first of a number of similar ceremonies which will be held around the country.

Published in Navy

Tagged under

About World Ocean Day

World Ocean Day is celebrated annually on June 8th to highlight the important role the ocean has for our life and the planet. The focus each year is on the 30x30 campaign: to create a healthy ocean with abundant wildlife and to stabilise the climate, it is critical that 30% of our planet’s lands, waters, and oceans are protected by 2030.

One of the issues affecting our ocean is marine litter which has become a global problem for both humans and marine life. However, communities around Ireland have demonstrated their desire to be part of the solution by taking part in several beach cleaning and clean-up calls to action.

Statistics show that the number one cause of marine litter is litter dropped in towns and cities.

In 2021, the initiative changed its name from “World Oceans Day” to “World Ocean Day”. By dropping the “s”, its organisers wanted to highlight the fact that we are all connected by a large ocean. This shared ocean supports all life on the planet, by producing most of the oxygen we breathe and regulating climate. No matter where we live, we all depend on the ocean to survive.

This means that each piece of marine litter removed from a beach, river, lake, park or street in Ireland, will have a positive impact on a global scale.