Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Seán Clancy is an

Irish Air Corps "Watchful and Loyal" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = ''see list of wars'' , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , fl ...

general and current

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

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 ...

since 29 September 2021. Clancy spent 16 years of his military career as a

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

(SAR) pilot for the Irish Air Corps, before moving up the chain of command as Chief of Air Staff ( GOC Air Corps) and Defence Forces Headquarters appointments such as Director of Strategic Planning and Deputy Chief of Staff (Support). Clancy has also spent a number of years on overseas deployments with the EU and UN. He is the first Chief of Staff from the Air Corps branch.

Early life

Clancy is a native of

Mitchelstown Mitchelstown () is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of approximately 3,740. Mitchelstown is situated in the valley to the south of the Galtee Mountains, 12 km south-west of the Mitchelstown Caves, 28 km from Cahir, 50& ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

and grew up partaking in

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

, progressing to become a patrol leader in the 30th Cork Scout Troop, competing for the Melvin Cup (an all-Ireland scouting competition). His father Seán 'Jack' Clancy (a native of

Kilrush Kilrush () is a coastal town in County Clare, Ireland. It is also the name of a civil parish and an ecclesiastical parish in Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. It is located near the mouth of the River Shannon in the south-west of the county. ...

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

) was principal of the primary school he attended, and he attended Christian Brothers Secondary School in Mitchelstown for three years, before moving to St Flannan's College in

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

to complete the

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certifica ...

Military career

Air Corps Agusta Westland AW139 (cropped)

Clancy joined the Defence Forces as an Air Corps cadet in 1984, and began flight training in 1986. He was trained on and has flown both fixed and rotary wing aircraft, clocking up 5,000 flight hours. He is a qualified type and instrument-rating examiner, qualified flight simulator instructor and has held type, instrument and NVG ratings on the

AgustaWestland AW139 The AgustaWestland AW139 is a medium-lift twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, later wholly owned by Leonardo S.p.A. It is marketed at several different roles, including V ...

helicopter. As a search and rescue pilot, Clancy was commander of a crew who received the Marine Medal for Meritorious Service in 2002. Clancy has served in both Air Corps and tri-service Defence Forces Headquarters (DFHQ) appointments including as Squadron Commander,

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

, Senior Staff Officer Operations, Senior Staff Officer Personnel, Chief of Air Staff Support in Air Corps Headquarters and Director of Strategic Planning Branch (Chief of Staff's Branch, DFHQ). In 2017, he was appointed as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Irish Air Corps and Director of Military Aviation (DFHQ). He is credited with playing a central role in the establishment of Ireland's first Emergency Aeromedical Service in 2012. Clancy served as military advisor to the Force Commander of the European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR/"

Operation Althea Operation Althea, formally the European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR), is a military deployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina to oversee the military implementation of the Dayton Agreement. It is the successor to NATO's SFOR and IFOR. Th ...

"), and spent two years as air advisor to

SHIRBRIG The Standby High-Readiness Brigade (SHIRBRIG) was a Danish-led initiative associated with the United Nations that aimed to create a standby force ready for peacekeeping. It was formed largely as a result of the genocide in Rwanda and other atroci ...

, the UN standby brigade. Prior to promotion to Chief of Staff, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) in DF Headquarters, responsible for logistics, human resources, transport, engineering, ordnance, medical and military policing across the three service branches of the Defence Forces. Clancy became the first Air Corps officer to be appointed as Chief of Staff by the government, and the second from outside the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...

(his predecessor Vice Admiral Mark Mellett was from the

Naval Service Naval Service may refer to either: * His Majesty's Naval Service, Britain's Royal Navy plus additional services * Naval Service (Ireland), a branch of the Irish Defence Forces * United States Department of the Navy, United States military department ...

Education

Clancy holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Degree in

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

from

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

and a Masters in Military Leadership 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 ...

. He graduated from the Defence Forces Command and Staff College with the Lt Gen Tadgh O'Neill Award (for best student of combined military and MA components). Clancy co-authored the Defence Forces Leadership Doctrine published in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clancy, Sean Military personnel from County Cork Irish generals Chiefs of Staff of the Defence Forces (Ireland) Living people Year of birth missing (living people)