Life soldiers on for Kilkenny's Commandant
HE is the public name (and face) of the Irish Defence Forces, but few may know that Commandant Feargal Purcell is a born-and-bred Kilkenny man - happiest with a hurl in his hand or a run in the Castle Park.
Assistant press officer Comdt Purcell, who is resplendent in his Army greens, with striking good looks and a friendly, easy-going manner, is largely responsible for developing and fostering agreeable relations between the Army and the media.
After nearly three years in the Army Press Office, he is the go-to man for comment on Army issues, overseas missions and security matters, but behind all that is a Ballycallan man (who now lives in the city) with black and amber running through his veins.
Comdt Purcell's family is originally from Ballycallan and he grew up playing hurling for the Dicksboro GAA club.
In fact, his playing days ended only a few years ago and it was, shall we say, beneficial, to the club's success.
"The year I retired, Dicksboro won the intermediate All-Ireland," he said, laughing.
"And I'm told my retirement had something to do with that.
"You wouldn't want to be too sensitive around those lads."
These days, he keeps fit by training a men's team out in Danesfort and running marathons.
"I'm a hurling nut, like most Kilkenny men," he said.
But in recent years, the former Kilkenny City Harrier has turned his focus to marathon running.
With military discipline and two good friends, Niall Lacey and Tim Butler, to run with, he's already successfully completed two marathons - the Dublin marathon in 2006 and the world-renowned Boston marathon the following year.
While his position in the Army Press Office requires him to be in Dublin during the week, like many Kilkenny folks, he finds his way home most weekends.
Whether it's spending time on the pitch, having a drink in Cleere's or a jog through the Castle Park, Comdt Purcell knows he's home.
"A sense of place is really important to me," he said.
"You need it to keep you grounded and mine is, first and foremost, Kilkenny, then Kerry.
"I'm so fond of Kilkenny because I've constantly been away from home since I was 17.
"Being away from home increases your fondness for a place and your appreciation for it.
"Kilkenny is just amazing."
It's been a long ride through the ranks for Comdt Purcell, who left home to join the Army at age 17.
Attracted by the promise of an active, exciting career with the chance to go overseas and to be a leader, he set his sights on the Army from an early age.
"I remember as an 11-year-old, my next door neighbour was in the Army and seeing him in his uniform sowed the seed of interest for me," Comdt Purcell said.
"I wasn't interested in going straight to college when I finished school, although I did go subsequently, so I joined the Cadet school as a callow youth of 17.
"The army ticked a lot of boxes for me. Serving my country appealed to me and like a lot of young people, I wanted to do something active, so the physical, fit lifestyle that the army required did as well.”
Getting through 18 months of cadet school in The Curragh at such a young age was not always easy, but it set Comdt Purcell on the right path.
“When I turned up at The Curragh on that day in November, 1990, I had my golf clubs with me,” he said.
“Needless to say, I never got to use them. It was quite a culture shock for me.
“It’s not easy to make the break from civilian life to military life. It’s a bit of a shock to the system.
“It was tough, but I soldiered on,” he added (pun intended).
“I’m delighted now that I saw it out.”
Soon after graduating from cadet school, Comdt Purcell was given his first big challenge at just 19 years of age.
“I went on to Portlaoise prison where I was in charge of 60 troops as a 19 year old,” he said.
“You take a rather large step forward when you leave the Cadets and you just have to deal with it.
“Although, having said that, I was under the impression that I was in charge, but I was probably being guided from the background.”
In the years that followed, Comdt Purcell went on to serve in overseas missions four times.
He was sent to Lebanon three times and once to Bosnia, where the Irish troops acted as peace enforcement officers in those war-torn countries.
Serving overseas is what the Army is about, he says.
Not only are soldiers given the chance to put their skills into practice and learn a host of new ones, it’s where human nature comes to the fore as soldiers serve, shoulder to shoulder, with their lives on the line.
“Overseas missions are an integral part of military life,” Comdt Purcell said.
“You learn more in five minutes on a practical mission than you would in a whole year at home.
“The lives of your troops are in your hands.
“If you ask any soldier about an overseas mission, he’ll say ‘Sure, it was great being involved with the UN or whoever’, but the real highlight is serving with the soldiers in front, beside and behind you.
“It’s those ties that bind that are so important, because you need to be able to depend on the person beside you, because at some point, your life might be in their hands, or theirs in yours.”
A born leader, Comdt Purcell is not one to shy away from responsibility, and he remembers clearly the day it came knocking.
“I remember an incident on a mission to Lebanon,” he recalled.
“It was the village of Barashit in 1996 and Israeli forces were shelling what they thought were rebel forces in the south of the country.
“We were sent into the village to see if anyone was hurt, not knowing what we were letting ourselves in for.
“I remember we were in the armoured personnel carrier, coming into town, and I was reading a map on the floor.
“At one stage I looked up and all my soldiers were just staring at me.
“I understood at that point precisely what it meant to be in charge.”
After 15 years with the Army, training soldiers and serving overseas, Comdt Purcell was elevated to his current position of assistant press officer almost three years ago.
He said PR positions in the Army were highly sought after and with a great interest in communications, was something he’d pursued.
Having bypassed college to join the Army straight out of school, the Army responded by giving Comdt Purcell the chance to get his degree a few years later.
After studying a Bachelor of Arts in English and History in Galway, Comdt Purcell completed a Masters in Communica-tions at DCU, setting him up for an career in the press office.
Comdt Purcell maintains strong links with Kilkenny and has plenty of family spread all over.
His father, Eddie, now lives on the Castlecomer Road and most of his father’s 10 brothers and sisters are still in Kilkenny
His mother, although originally from Kerry, also made her mark on the county.
“She was involved in setting up the first Gaelscoil in Kilkenny in the mid-80s,” he said.
“It only had three students at the time and one of those was my sister, Mary.”
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Monday 21 May 2012
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