The Irish Defence Forces personnel who have died overseas

Another three were murdered by one of their own colleagues.

In what would be one of the worst episodes in Unifil history, Privates Peter Burke and Thomas Murphy and Corporal Gregory Morrow were all shot to death by Private Michael McAleavey on October 27, 1982.

McAleavey originally claimed his army colleagues had been shot by Lebanese gunmen, but later admitted his role in their killing and he was courtmartialed in 1983 and convicted of their murders.

He was released from a prison in Northern Ireland in 2010 after serving 27 years of a life sentence.

The first two Defence Forces soldiers to die while serving with Unifil were Private Gerard Moon, who died on August 25, 1978, and Corporal Thomas Reynolds, who also died that year, on Christmas Eve.

Both men died as a result of traffic accidents.

Private Philip Grogan drowned while on leave on July 10 the following year.

Of the six soldiers who died in 1980, three — Privates Stephen Griffin, Thomas Barrett and Derek Smallhorne — were all killed by Israeli-backed militia over three days in April.

Sergeant Edward Yates, who died on May 31, and Corporal Vincent Duffy, who died on October 8, were both involved in road accidents, while Private John Marshall — who died on December 17 that year — died after suffering a severe throat infection.

Early in February the following year, Company Sergeant James Martin died of a suspected heart attack while on the way to Tel Aviv, Israel.

Two more soldiers were to die in combat this year, with Private Caoimhín Seoighe — the only person whose body has never been located and Private Hugh Doherty, both killed by the PLO.

Another traffic accident claimed the life of a soldier, Private Niall Byrne, on June 22, 1981, and the following year Private Gerard Hodges died after sustaining burns in a camp kitchen fire on March 20, 1982.

The death of Private Michael McAleavey, who was murdered on October 27, 1982, was followed by the accidental shooting of Corporal George Murray on October 9, 1984, and the death of Trooper Paul Fogarty on July 20, two years later, in a traffic accident.

That year, 1986, was also the year Lieutenant Aengus Murphy was blown up by a Lebanese bomb maker.

His August 21 death was followed by that of Private William O’Brien, who was killed by Israeli-backed militia on December 6, 1986.

Corporal Dermot McLoughlin would then be killed by Israeli Defence Forces tank crew on January 10, 1987.

Sergeant Major John Fitzgerald died in an accidental shooting incident on February 24, 1987, and then later that year, on August 29, Corporal George Bolger had a heart attack after suffering a suspected brain haemorrhage.

General Paul Cullen would die while on a night out on March 17, 1988, and Private Patrick Wright died later that year after another shooting accident, on August 21.

The following year would see another death at the hands of Israeli-backed militia, that of Private Michael McNeela, who died on February 24, 1989.

And then on March 2, that year, Corporal Fintan Heneghan and Privates Thomas Walsh and Mannix Armstrong were killed when the truck in which they were travelling detonated a landmine.

Sergeant Charles Forrester died of natural causes on May 21 that year, while another man to die, Commandant Michael O’Hanlon was killed in a shooting accident.

Corporal Michael McCarthy was killed in crossfire with Israeli-backed militia on November 15, 1991, and then in September the following year, Corporal Peter Ward was killed by Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

Another man to die of natural causes was Corporal Martin Tynan, whose body was found in a hotel room on December 13, 1992.

The next five to die fell victim to either health issues or accidents, with Company Quartermaster Sergeant Declan Stokes suffering a heart attack while playing football on June, 14, 1993 and Private Michael Dowling dying on September 16, 1998, after a throat infection.

Airman Stephen O’Connor died as a result of an accidental shooting on October 3, 1993, as did Private Kevin Barrett, on February 18, 1999, while Sergeant John Lynch died in a helicopter accident on August 6, 1997.

The last soldier to die in the line of fire serving with Unifil was Private William “Billy” Kedian, who was killed by Israeli-backed militia on May 31, 1999.

The next five to die all died as a result of traffic accidents.

Trooper Jonathan Campbell died on September 5, 1999, while Privates Declan Deere, Brendan Fitzpatrick, Matthew Lawlor and Jonathan Murphy all died in a crash while on leave on February 14, 2000.

While 46 have died serving with Unifil, the monument at Tibnin actually has 47 names on it.

The extra name is that of Commandant Michael Nestor.

He was serving with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) — which, set up in 1949, was the first UN group of peacekeepers to supervise the implementation of Israel-Arab armistice agreements.