Lt. Col. 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 colonel. ...

Richard Brennan is a

Barrister-at-Law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

in the Legal Service 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 ...

(IDF) and former National Legal Advisor to the IDF during

United Nations peacekeeping operations The Department of Peace Operations (DPO) (French: ''Département des opérations de maintien de la paix'') is a department of the United Nations charged with the planning, preparation, management and direction of UN peacekeeping operations. Pre ...

as a

United Nations Military Observer A United Nations Military Observer (UNMO) is a military official deployed by the United Nations to provide support to a UN mission or peace operation. Described as the "eyes and ears" of the UN Security Council, observers fulfill a variety of roles ...

. He is a legal scholar on

international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by prot ...

and the legal basis of peacekeeping missions.

Military career

Brennan was commissioned as an officer in the Irish

Defence Forces The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the armed forces of certain countries and territories. Defence forces * Ambazonia Defence Forces *Artsakh Defence Army * Australian Defen ...

in 1991. He first deployed as an infantry officer on two tours in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

with 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 ...

(UNIFIL) in 1995 and 2000. In 2002, he deployed to

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

with the Irish Defence Forces supporting the

United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) was established by the United Nations Security Council in July 2000 to monitor a ceasefire in the border war that began in 1998 between Ethiopia and Eritrea. First military troops Nethe ...

(UNMEE). Following extensive infantry service, Brennan was appointed as a legal officer in the Defence Forces in 2004. Between 2004 and 2009, he served as a staff officer within the office of Legal Service at the Defence Forces headquarters and held the rank of

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

KFOR

In 2008, Brennan acted as the National Legal Advisor to Brigadier General Gerry Hegarty (Ret.), the Commander of the Multinational Task Force Centre (MNTF-C) for the NATO-led

Kosovo Force The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO-led international NATO peacekeeping, peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Its operations are gradually reducing until Kosovo Security Force, Kosovo's Security Force, established in 2 ...

(KFOR), during

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

’s framework nation role in its "lead nation period" with KFOR.

UNDOF

In 2012, Brennan was appointed the National Legal Advisor to the Irish Contingent 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

Golan Golan ( he, גּוֹלָן ''Gōlān''; ar, جولان ' or ') is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical ci ...

. He subsequently advised on

’s on deployments in

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

and

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

UNIFIL

In 2017, Brennan served as the National Legal Advisor to the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Contingent of the

UNIFIL 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 ...

Legal career

Brennan is an expert on

, the protection of civilians and victims of

armed conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

, and the legal basis of peacekeeping operations and their contemporary challenges. Brennan has also lectured on the protection of civilians during peace operations and the legal nexus in peace operations. He has advocated for continued relevance and importance of

, even with the genesis of new

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

groups and the ever evolving nature of conflict. He has also raised the question of the interface between

human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

and

, advocating for assurance that there is a clear distinction in the dichotomy between human rights obligations and

law of armed conflict International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by prot ...

(LOAC) obligations. With Ireland’s traditional role in peace support operations and

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

operations, a lack of clarity can prevent appropriate dissemination of the law, which in turn affects the consistency of its operational application on the ground. Brennan spoke on general data protection regulation (GDPR) and its potential to drive major cultural changes at the Data Protection Conference in Dublin in 2018. Brennan is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War and represented the Office of the Director of Military Prosecutions, Defense Forces (Ireland) at the

International Association of Prosecutors The International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) is a global non-governmental organisation of prosecutors, established by the United Nations in 1995, Vienna. It has 183 organizational members from 177 countries, and individual members. The IAP ...

European Regional Conferences at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. He is also a Trustee of the CAFNBO Distress Fund, set up for the purpose of reliving distress among serving NCO’s. Brennan is currently an appointed prosecutor with the Director of Military Prosecutions and serves as Brigade Legal Advisor at two Brigade Headquarters.

Education

Brennan holds a BA in History and Legal Science from UCG and graduated from

NUI 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 an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1999. He studied at the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

in Dublin and was called to the Irish Bar in 2004 as a

. Brennan completed a Master's Degree ( MA) in Leadership, Management and Defence Studies (LMDS) at

NUI Maynooth 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 w ...

in 2007. Brennan is a graduate of the Command and Staff School at the Military College of the Irish Defence Forces Training Centre. His dissertation for the 63rd Command and Staff Course on "Targeting in the modern Battle-Space" was awarded the "Gradam Taighde Na bhForsai Cosanta," The Defence Forces Award for Excellence for thesis research for best thesis. He is a graduate of the

International Institute of Humanitarian Law The International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL) is an independent, “non-profit, humanitarian association having social values as its objectives”, founded in 1970 in Sanremo, Italy. Its headquarters are situated in Villa Ormond, while a ...

in San Remo,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and has also completed operational law courses at the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Operational Law School in Oberammagau, Germany and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

at the Operational Law Centre Warminster. He completed the Advanced Laws of War course at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

under Dominic McGoldrick. Brennan has instructed as class leader at the

and at the

/ PfP School in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, Turkey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Richard Living people 21st-century Irish lawyers Year of birth missing (living people) Irish Army officers