The Minister for Defence, Mr Simon Coveney, TD, and Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces Lieutenant General Seán Clancy attended the Commissioning Ceremony of the 5th Army Reserve Potential Officers Course, consisting of 29 new Army Officers in the Defence Forces Training Centre in Kildare.
The 29 officers, including one from Co Clare, successfully completed the course will now start a new journey in leadership roles in units throughout Óglaigh na hÉireann.
The 5th Army Reserve Potential Officers Course (5 AR PO Course), commenced training in July 2019, in the Cadet School, Military College, Curragh, Co. Kildare. The course was conducted over a three-year period with students participating in a mixture of on-site, and remote, part-time learning.
The newly appointed Clare officer is Clare woman Lieutenant Norah Murphy, a former Clare County Fire and Rescue Service firefighter based in Ennis and currently working as an environmental officer with Clare County Council.
This course was also a historic milestone in that it is the first one of its kind conducted in over a decade. The course was conducted over a three-year period, with the last eighteen months having been especially testing due to COVID-19 but students and instructors alike rose to the challenge by engaging in new and innovative methods of learning.
In receiving this Presidential Commission, the new officers took an oath of allegiance in which they will swear to be “faithful to Ireland and loyal to the Constitution”.
Lieutenant Norah Murphy is the daughter of Eamonn and Mary, and is the eldest of five children. She enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2001 serving with the 22nd Infantry Battalion, the 32 Inf Bn and is currently serving with 1 Cn Cois.
She has achieved six All-Army Titles and eight Brigade Titles in the Falling Plates Shooting Competition. She was a qualified Fire Fighter and Swift Water Rescue Technician for six years until recently transferring to the Public Sector.
She has a Diploma in Local Government Studies and in Public Management, a Bachelor Degree (Hons) in Public Management. She is currently completing a Masters of Arts in Leadership and Strategy.
Norah loves to travel and her interests include Gaelic football, camogie, hiking and reading. She has trained LGFA teams at club and county level. She is an inter-county referee and has represented her club and county in Gaelic football, camogie and handball winning Munster and All-Ireland Titles.
