Irish Kfor troops settle into new camp

On their first day at Camp Clarke, the 104 Irish Kfor troops awoke to a rare taste of home - a heavy rain shower.

"They have all the luck," said army engineer, Sgt Matt Doyle without a trace of irony. He was one of 36 soldiers who flew out to Kosovo two weeks ago to build the Irish base from scratch in arid conditions and temperatures of over 40 Celsius.

"I was in Cyprus, the Lebanon and Somalia, but this was the hardest mission yet. We were working round the clock in oppressive heat, up at 5.45 a.m. and not finishing until 8 p.m. each day. But we were told by an American general it couldn't be done and that gave us a spur."

The scale of their efforts was plain to see. The disused battery farm that once stood on the green field site, outside the village of Lipljan, 15 km south of Pristina, had been transformed into a secure, multi-purpose military camp, complete with kitchen, hot showers, air-conditioned accommodation, loading bays and security checkpoints.

The main chicken hatchery building had been converted into a storage area with part of it held over to create an indoor soccer pitch for the new arrivals.

"They have it easy now that we have done the hard work," joked Sgt Doyle, a father of six from Clondalkin, Dublin. He was looking forward to flying home with the rest of the Army Engineer Corps tomorrow. As their job finishes, that of the Transport Company begins. The unit is to spend the rest of the week gathering logistical information before undertaking its first task, provisionally the movement of humanitarian aid around Pristina and the transport of heavy Italian military equipment from Pec to Greece.

As a precaution, all convoys will be guarded by armed Irish troops. However, the Army believe there is only a minor threat of vehicles coming under attack.

The main security risk to date has come from a more unusual source - a pack of wild animals, including Doberman and Alsatian dogs, found to be roaming in the vicinity of the Irish camp.

"One night we counted 15 in a pack. They seemed to have been led by one large black dog," said Comdt Aidan Dempsey, commander of the Engineer Corps. Kfor vets have been notified of the potential threat.

Despite growing tension in some areas between Kfor and local Serb and ethnic Albanian citizens, Comdt Dempsey said the Irish soldiers had received an unambiguously friendly welcome. "We've had a positive reaction so far from all the locals and haven't exchanged any animosity."

Ten ethnic Albanians from nearby villages have been employed as kitchen workers and general operatives at the camp, among them Mr Ekrem Saliku, who returned to his burnt-out home last month after fleeing to Macedonia with his family of 11. "I'm happy to be here because it is difficult to find work and the soldiers are very nice people," said the former schoolteacher.

Also at the camp yesterday to greet the new arrivals were members of the Irish Guards, who have a patrol base in the area. Capt Cahal O'Reilly, a Londoner who studied international law at Trinity College, Dublin, was somewhat envious of the conditions at the base. "They are as good as I have seen. We are based in a derelict school and don't have running water let alone hot running water."

The Army has no difficulty in getting volunteers for the Kosovo mission, according to Comdt Eoghan O Neachtain. "There is always a sense of excitement with a new mission and that was helped on this occasion by it being so close to home."

Each soldier will be paid £26 a day tax free on top of their salaries for the next six months while they are in Kosovo to cover expenses incurred locally.

With their arrival, the camp - named after the 1916 revolutionary, Tom Clarke - has begun to take on a more Irish flavour. Bodhrans, boxes of Tayto crisps and even a bingo machine have been unloaded into the living quarters. County colours, notably the red and white of Cork, are hung above beds.

It would almost make one want to stay on a bit longer, said Sgt Doyle. Almost, though. "Wait till you see," he said, "they will all start complaining soon about not having bedside lights or something like that, and I'd rather not be around to hear it."