Lt Elizabeth Carr travels to the Lebanon in May

Over 300 members of the Irish Defence Forces are completing tactical training exercises at centres in the Midlands and east of the country this week ahead of deployment in Lebanon in May as part of the latest United Nations Interim Force peacekeeping mission.

Lt Elizabeth Carr from Mullingar is one of them and will be travelling overseas with the 118th Battalion.

Speaking to RTÉ's midlands correspondent, Ciaran Mullooly, who was meeting members of the Irish Defence Forces who are completing the final stages of training before deployment in Lebanon, Lft Carr said:

"I will be travelling overseas with the 118th Battalion as a three platoon commander, to on an outpost out in Lebanon and then again on the main camp itself. I will be continuing operations on that post whether it's patrols, observing, reporting, and assisting with the Lebanese armed forces," she said.

Lt Col Conor Bates and his team were putting members members of the 118th Infantry Battalion through a rigorous training routine, before the 341 Irish personnel go into quarantine ahead of deployment to Lebanon.

"This is a peacekeeping mission, and we will achieve our mission through what the Irish have always done, engagement with the local population and we have the wherewithal and the resources to deal with an issues as they may arise out there.

"As you know we have a long history in Lebanon and we deal with peacekeeping in our own intimate way with the people out there and they respect us for it."