'No more counting down the days' - Tears of joy and singing greet Irish peacekeepers returning from Lebanon

"no more video calls, no more counting down the days"

"The start was hard, there was a lot more going on at the start."

"He's home now, that's the main thing. (It was) worrying, but they kept their heads down and everything was fine, thank God."

"She's counted down every single day since the very start, she's slept with that teddy bear every single night, and every morning she's rang him and counted down the days every single day."

More than 300 Irish troops completed a six-month UN deployment in southern Lebanon and returned through Terminal 1 at Dublin Airport. Children, partners and grandparents greeted the returning peacekeepers with handmade signs, UN and Irish flags, and emotional embraces. A young girl named Faye slept with a teddy dressed in matching uniform and counted down each day until her father’s return. Families described a worrying start to the deployment but relief that soldiers kept their heads down and returned safely. A 21-year-old returnee's family sang Travelin' Soldier while grandparents were among the first to embrace arriving troops.

Read at Irish Independent