Defence Forces chaplains operate in much the same way as parish priests. They say Mass, hear Confession and provide a listening ear.
But they enjoy one special privilege, explains Fr Paul Murphy, who is deployed with the 126th Infantry Battalion in Lebanon.
“One of the things that a chaplain can do that an ordinary priest in a parish can’t do is give general absolution.
“Every month since we’ve come, at Sunday Mass, I give a general absolution so that, God forbid, if anything happened, the lads are covered.
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“It’s an insurance policy that you don’t even have to pay for,” Fr Murphy says with a laugh.
The padre’s easy-going nature is one of the reasons why he is so popular with the 333 men and women of the battalion.
“Have you spoken to Fr Murphy yet? He’s a gentleman,” said one noncommissioned officer. “A calming presence” on the base was the description of a senior officer.
The chaplain’s stature among the troops has only increased since August 15th, 2024 when, as he was driving into Renmore Barracks in Galway, he was attacked by a knife-wielding teenager who had been radicalised by Islamic State propaganda.
Fr Murphy suffered severe lacerations in the attack before Defence Forces sentries fired warning shots and subdued the attack.
In court last April, the chaplain hugged the 17-year-old and said he forgave him. “As a man of faith, I am in the business of forgiveness, and I offer to you, the young man standing accused before me, the forgiveness that will hopefully help you to become a better person.”
Before being sentenced to eight years for attempted murder, the teenager told Fr Murphy “I’m sorry”. Soon after, and still recovering from his injuries, the chaplain departed for Lebanon.
It is clear Fr Murphy would rather talk about his pastoral work but he concedes “there is a certain kudos in taking one for the team.
“The young fella had come to kill a soldier. And I took it. And I suppose I took it with some good grace so there’s a certain respect for that.
“Fellas throw around the words like legend and stuff but you can be a legend if you win the bingo on Thursday here.”
The incident has not dimmed his view of humanity or changed how he deals with people, he says.
One of his main jobs is acting as listening ear, outside the chain of command. Military chaplains hold no rank. It is often said they adopt the rank of whoever they are talking to.
In a congested, sometimes high-stress place such as Post 2-45, the Irish contingent’s main base with the United Nations Interim Force Lebanon (Unifil), small problems can become big ones very quickly.
“Sometimes you can just calm something down before it gets out of hand.”
He describes his approach as “loitering with intent”.
“Families at home will sometimes get on to me and say ‘I was on to Johnny on the phone. He didn’t sound great. Would you just check in on him?’.
“So the following morning, I’m having coffee with Johnny and the others. When the others go I walk out with and ask him how he’s getting on. And then you sometimes get what you don’t get elsewhere.”
Fr Murphy was ordained in 1996 and joined the Defence Forces in 2013, having previously served as chaplain to the Order of Malta. It is his sixth full tour overseas.
As well as being a listening ear, he also says Mass and hears Confession daily. Soldiers do tend to get a bit more religious overseas, he says.
“There’s an old saying that there’s no there’s no atheists in the trenches, and, to a certain extent, that’s true. Now, that doesn’t mean they’re knocking down your door to get in on a Sunday morning, but they do appreciate it,” he says.
“Young people are at Mass here every night. Guys who are 19 and 20.”
Another important part is helping to remember fallen comrades. He has just come from saying a small remembrance mass for a soldier killed while on leave from peacekeeping duty in Syria four years ago.
Around 14 of the soldier’s friends came to the Mass and Fr Murphy took their photo. “I just sent it to his mom and dad and his sister at home.”
Because they are outside the rank structure, the Department of Defence’s position is that the 12 serving military chaplains are not technically members of the Defence Forces and therefore not entitled to join the representative associations that campaign for soldiers’ pay and conditions.
This has caused anger among troops, with the Representative Association for Commissioned Officers (Raco) this week calling the situation “outrageous”.
“We consider that chaplains wear the uniform of Óglaigh na hÉireann. They deploy overseas, probably more frequently than anyone in this room. In fact, Paul Murphy is in Unifil at the moment as the chaplain, notwithstanding his recovery from the assault,” Raco general secretary Lieut Col Conor King said at the group’s AGM.
In response, Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris said he would “like to see” it addressed.
Fr Murphy does not want to wade into politics, except to say “we are members of the Defence Forces”.
