Ireland

the Irish Defense Forces (IDF) are responsible for external defense, assisting civil authorities upon request, participating in multinational peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, and providing for maritime security; the IDF traces its origins back to the Irish Volunteers, a unit established in 1913 which took part in the 1916 Easter Rising and the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921) Ireland has a long-standing policy of military neutrality; however, Ireland is a signatory of the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy and has committed a battalion of troops to the EU’s Rapid Reaction Force; Ireland is not a member of NATO but has a relationship with it going back to 1997, when it deployed personnel in support of the NATO-led peacekeeping operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Ireland joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace program in 1999; it has been active in UN peacekeeping operations since the 1950s (2025)

330 Lebanon (UNIFIL); also contributes small numbers of troops to EU, NATO, and other UN missions (2025)

Irish Defense Forces (Oglaigh na h-Eireannn): Army, Air Corps, Naval Service, Reserve Defense Forces (2025)

note: An Garda Siochana (or Garda) is the national police force and maintains internal security under the auspices of the Department of Justice

18-38 years of age for men and women for voluntary military service (2026)

note 1: as of 2025, women made up about 7.5% of the military's full-time personnel

note 2: the Defense Forces are open to refugees under the Refugee Act of 1996 and nationals of the European Economic Area, which include EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway

the Irish Defense Forces have an inventory of imported weapons systems from a variety of mostly European countries (2025)

approximately 7,500 active-duty Defense Forces (authorized establishment of 9,500) (2025)