Description:
The interview was recorded at the Dublin, Ireland,on July 3rd, 1998. The Interviewer was Jim Sutterlin.
Lt.Gen. Gerry McMahon retired as Chief of Staff of the Irish Defense Forces in 1998 after a career of 45 years at home and overseas. Commissioned into the Infantry he served in a wide selection of command and staff appointments at home, including being a logistics officer at Western Command Headquarters, an instructor at the Irish Military College, Commanding Officer of the 5 Infantry Battalion and an operations staff officer at Defense Headquarters.
Towards the end of his career he served as Commandant of the Military College, Defense Forces Quartermaster-General and Deputy Chief of Staff before becoming the Chief of Staff for his final four years of service. He had wide experience on overseas peacekeeping missions throughout his career, serving at various times in the Congo, Cyprus, Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. He also spent a year working in the Dept. of Peacekeeping Operations in UN HQ New York.
Since retirement he is enjoying his leisure time. He writes for the Irish Times and Examiner newspapers and dabbles in the lecture circuit. He is also involved in some projects that interest him, one of these being the Institute for International Criminal Investigations.