An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir June 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 38 | KARL MCENEANEY AUDIO VISUAL SCHOOL, INFO OFFICE, PR BRANCH, DFHQ CORPORAL/VIDEOGRAPHER K arl grew up in Dundalk and went to Ó Fiaich College secondary school in the town. He joined the Defence Forces in 1998 at 17 and did his recruit training with CTD East in Gormanston Camp before being posted to 27 Inf Bn in Monaghan, where he underwent a number of infantry weap- ons courses, including .5 HMG, 81mm mortar, and Panhard APC gunner. After three busy years on the border Karl left the Defence Forces to travel, heading to Australia for over a year. Returning to Ireland, Karl felt he had made a mistake leaving the Defence Forces and applied successfully to rejoin in May 2003, this time in Aiken Bks, Dundalk. "I had to do my recruit and 3* training again" Karl says, " – it was tough, but enjoyable. "Then in 2004 I travelled on my first overseas mission, to Liberia, which was a culture shock! It really makes you ap- preciate what you have at home when you see the world as a peacekeeper." On his return from overseas, Karl moved from Dundalk to Co Meath and started a family with wife Lorna. Looking for a transfer closer to his new home, Karl obtained a posting to the Records and Data Management section of 2 E Bde HQ in Cathal Brugha Bks. "This was a big change, going from an infantry soldier to admin clerk, as I had no admin experience." In 2008/09 Karl completed a Potential NCOs course, and was promoted into Manpower, 2 E Bde HQ. In 2010, Karl travelled overseas again, as section 2i/c with APC Coy, 102 Inf Bn, to Chad. "This was the last battalion on this mission, so we were extra busy with the withdrawal. It was a great experience as an NCO." On his return he was posted to the 2 E Bde HQ orderly room, where he completed the Orderly Room Cpl and the Orderly Room Sgt courses. "As a special project with the Brigade Adjutant's office I worked on the sub files for the new promotion board system. I also instructed on an Orderly Room Sgts course." After 11 years in 2 Bde HQ, Karl was ready for his next chal- lenge and applied for a vacancy he saw ad- vertised for a corporal videogra- pher in the Audio Vi- sual School, DFHQ. "I had an interest in video and editing and this seemed to be a very interesting job. I was suc- cessful in the interview and was posted in April 2017. On the first day on the job I was filming in Áras an Uachtaráin!" "I went straight onto a number of editing courses in Final Cut Pro X, Graphic Motion 5, and Intensive Colour Correction; all in Filmbase in Temple Bar, Dublin. I also completed an eight-week Introduction to Film Production course in Pulse College – which opens up the opportunity for a two-year diploma in Film Pro- duction starting in September 2019." In just over two years Karl has filmed and edited over 40 vid- eos for PR Branch. These are shared all over the DF social media channels, internally on IKON, and on www.military.ie. One of his high points was the video to commemorate Ireland's 60 years of continuous peacekeeping in June 2018. The video, which uses archive footage and President Kennedy's voiceover from his visit to Ireland in the early 1960s, was completed under the guidance of film editor Niall Campion of VFX, and is one of the Defence Force's most successful videos in recent years, with 105,000 views on social media, and was played for 80,000 spectators in Croke Park at halftime during the All- Ireland hurling final. "Last year I produced a video for the Air Corps Trainee Techni- cian Scheme that has over 208,000 views to date. This most popular video this year was in connection with the recent commissioning in the Curragh. It included footage of President Higgins signing the presidential scrolls in his private study. "I'm very privileged to be working in PR Branch. We are very busy, but seeing your work being shared and published is a great reward. We also have another big project in the pipeline for this summer!" BY SGT WAYNE FITZGERALD MAIN PHOTO BY ARMN JAMIE BARRETT

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