Cathal Berry (born 1977/1978) [1] is an Irish former independent politician and retired soldier who was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kildare South constituency from 2020 to 2024. [2]
Originally from Ballyduff, County Waterford, Berry joined the army at the age of 18. Berry was a career Line Infantry officer and served for six years as the second-in-command of the Army Ranger Wing, Ireland's special operations unit, before qualifying as a medical doctor and becoming the head of the Military Medical School of the Irish Defence Forces. He deployed overseas five times, with NATO in Kosovo, the EU in Chad and the UN in the Middle East (Lebanon). [3]
Berry came to public attention in 2019, unusual for a soldier, particularly with service in the ARW, when upon retiring after 23 years in the Defence Forces, he spoke to the media about poor pay and conditions within the military and the disillusionment of military personnel with the perceived dysfunctional relationship between the military authorities and the Department of Defence. [4] [5]
Berry called for the resignation of Paul Kehoe, Minister of State at the Department of Defence from 2011 to 2020, whom he described as an "empty suit" who has "presided over the demise of the Defence Forces". [6]
Berry holds a bachelor's degree in Science and Master of Law in Peace Support Operations and International Humanitarian Law from NUI Galway, a Bachelor of Medicine, Obstetrics and Surgery from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland as well as qualifications in French language, and leadership, management and defence studies from NUI Maynooth.
Berry was elected to Dáil Éireann as an independent TD for the Kildare South constituency at the 2020 general election. [7] [8] His campaign platform was "health, housing, the environment, education and Defence Force families". [9]
He lost his seat at the 2024 general election. He unsuccessfully contested the 2025 Seanad election.
Cathal Brugha was an Irish republican politician who served as Minister for Defence from 1919 to 1922, Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann in January 1919, the first president of Dáil Éireann from January 1919 to April 1919 and Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army from 1917 to 1918. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1918 to 1922.
The Army Ranger Wing (ARW) is the special operations force of the Irish Defence Forces, the military of Ireland. It is a branch of the Irish Army, it also selects personnel from the Naval Service and Air Corps. It serves at the behest of the Defence Forces and Government of Ireland, operating internally and overseas, and reports directly to the Chief of Staff. The ARW was established in 1980 with the primary role of counter terrorism and evolved to both special operations and counter-terrorism roles from 2000 after the end of conflict in Northern Ireland. The unit is based in the Curragh Camp, County Kildare. The 2015 White Paper on Defence announced that the strength of the ARW would be considerably increased due to operational requirements at home and overseas.
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