Richard Brennan

Lt. Col. Richard Brennan is a Barrister-at-Law in the Legal Service of the Irish Defence Forces (IDF) and former National Legal Advisor to the IDF during United Nations peacekeeping operations as a United Nations Military Observer. He is a legal scholar on international humanitarian law and the legal basis of peacekeeping missions. Military career Brennan was commissioned as an officer in the Irish Defence Forces in 1991. He first deployed as an infantry officer on two tours in Lebanon with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in 1995 and 2000. In 2002, he deployed to Eritrea with the Irish Defence Forces supporting the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (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. 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 (KFOR), during Ireland’s framework nation role in its "lead nation period" with KFOR.