Rank Lieutenant general | ||
Lieutenant General Sean MacEoin (1910–1998), also known as John McKeown, was an Irish Defence Force officer.
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Early life
MacEoin on was born in the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth. He was a nephew of the Blacksmith of Ballinalee, Sean Mac Eoin (aka John Joseph McKeon)
Military career
He joined the Irish Army as a cadet in 1930.
He served as a Battalion commander during the The Emergency. After the war, he held appointments in infantry and cadet school. He was appointed commandant of the Irish Military School in 1957. In 1960, he was appointed the Irish Defence Forces Chief of Staff. He was the first graduate of the Irish Military School to have the role.
In 1961, he was appointed Force Commander of the United Nations Operation in the Congo, which was considered a great honor for the Irish Defence Forces.commanding it during some of the fiercest fighting of the Congo Crisis. He found himself in command of 20,000 troops of different nationalities including Irish, Swedish, Indians, Ethiopians and Ghanians, among which he was held in high regard. U Thant, the United Nations Secretary General said General MacEoin had "discharged his "duties with eminence" and he was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal. On his return to Ireland, he took over his role as Irish Defence Forces Chief of Staff the emergence of The Troubles in 1969 left the irish army somewhat overstretched, he retired as chief of staff of the Irish Defence Forces in 1971.
Death and legacy
MacEoin died at his home in Dublin in 1998.