''An Cosantóir'' (; meaning "The Defender") is the official

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

of the

Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used in ...

. It was originally established in December 1940 by Colonel

Michael Joe Costello Michael Joseph Costello (4 July 1904 – 20 October 1986) was an Irish rebel and military leader during the Irish War of Independence. Biography Michael Joseph Costello was born on 4 July 1904 in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary, son of Denis Cos ...

as a means of disseminating training material among the Local Security Force (LSF), the forerunner to the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

, but later became the newspaper of Costello's First Division. In its current form, ''An Cosantóir'' is a 40-page colour A4 size publication, issued 10 times per year. The magazine carries information on various elements of the Irish Defence Forces. Topics cover different aspects of military life, including training, overseas operations, new equipment, personalities, events, international military affairs, humanitarian work, unit activities, and military history. ''An Cosantóir'' is published by the Public Relations Section, Defence Forces Headquarters (DFHQ) with offices at Ceannt Barracks in the

Curragh Camp The Curragh Camp ( ga, Campa an Churraigh) is an army base and military college in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces and is home to 2,000 military personnel ...

. Since June 2011, the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

is Sergeant Wayne Fitzgerald. It has a monthly readership of around 25,000, and up to 45,000 readers online, and is sold in approximately 200 outlets around Ireland. An Cosantóir holds an annual 10km road race event in the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

in autumn for Permanent and

Reserve Defence Forces The Reserve Defence Forces (RDF) ( ga, Na hÓglaigh Cúltaca) are the combined Military reserve force, reserve components of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The RDF is organised into the First Line Reserve (FLR) and an active S ...

personnel,

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

staff, veterans and invited guests. Back issues of ''An Cosantóir'' dating back to 1940 are available online.

References

External links

* Magazines published in Ireland 1940 establishments in Ireland Magazines established in 1940 Military of the Republic of Ireland Military magazines {{Military-mag-stub