Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Maureen O'Brien is an Irish Army general and current Deputy Military Advisor in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Office of Military Affairs, Department of Peace Operations. O'Brien had previously been Deputy Force Commander of the

United Nations Disengagement Observer Force The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission tasked with maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The mission was established by United ...

(UNDOF) in the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

from September 2019 to March 2021 (and Acting Force Commander from October 2019 to July 2020). O'Brien has completed 8 overseas missions, including serving in Lebanon, Western Sahara, East Timor, Sarajevo ( OSCE) and Chad, and is the first female promoted to the rank of general in the history 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 ...

Early life and education

O'Brien is a native of

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

city, and graduated from

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

with a Bachelor of Science and Higher Diploma in Education. She holds a first class master's degree in Leadership, Management and Defence Studies from

Maynooth University The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It ...

and has completed a postgraduate diploma in IT from

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

Military career

After spending time as a teacher, O'Brien joined the Cadet School in 1981 - one year after the Army allowed women to apply. On commissioning in 1983 she was posted as an Infantry Officer, to the 4th Infantry Battalion, Cork, before returning to the Cadet School some years later as an instructor. O'Brien has achieved a number of "firsts" for women in the Irish Defence Forces, becoming the first female Army Line Officer to be promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in 2011 as Battalion Commander of the

27 Infantry Battalion The 27th Infantry Battalion (''27th Inf Bn''; Irish: ''27ú Cathlán Coisithe'') is one of the seven infantry battalions of the Irish Army. The battalion was established on 1 September 1973 and forms part of the 2nd Brigade. The Battalion Hea ...

Aiken Barracks Aiken Barracks (Irish: ''Dún Mhic Aogáin'') is an army barracks located in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. The barracks was originally known as Dundalk Barracks and was renamed after Frank Aiken, a commander of the Irish Republican Army and an ...

, and as

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

assuming the role as Director of the CIS Corps in 2016, responsible for all communications and information technology across the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps. Her career has included extensive overseas experience, with her first two deployments being to the

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...

, serving as a Captain in

MINURSO The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara ( ar, بعثة الأمم المتحدة لتنظيم استفتاء في الصحراء الغربية; french: Mission des Nations Unies pour l'Organisation d'un Référendum au ...

in the Western Sahara and UNTAET in East Timor. She assumed the role as

Second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...

(2IC) of a 420-strong infantry battalion with

MINURCAT The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) was a United Nations peacekeeping mission established by the United Nations Security Council on September 25, 2007 to provide a multidimensional presence of up to 350 po ...

in Chad and was deployed as Chief of Operations Planning in a multinational sector headquarters in Lebanon (UNIFIL). O'Brien has held appointment in the Operations Branch of Defence Forces Headquarters where she was the senior staff officer responsible for EU and NATO/ PfP engagement. At the time of her promotion in 2019 to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, O'Brien was described as "one of the most accomplished officers operationally in the Defence Forces". As Deputy Force Commander, O'Brien was responsible for ensuring that directives were met within UNDOF for the force commander, and for liaising with the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

(IDF) and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. In May 2021, O'Brien was appointed to the second highest rank in the Irish Defence Forces (major general) as one of two advisors on

United Nations peacekeeping Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished ...

operations to the

UN Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of the Un ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Maureen Military personnel from County Galway Alumni of the University of Galway Irish Army generals Irish generals Living people 1960 births