An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.
Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/1111057
An Cosantóir May 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 16 | LT GENERAL MJ COSTELLO AWARDS 2018 BY SGT WAYNE FITZGERALD PHOTOS BY ARMN SAM GIBNEY "It was necessary to find a means whereby the words of the Command OCs and staffs could reach men at a distance and whereby the spoken word could be recorded and made available for study and reflection." - Lt Gen M. J. Costello, An Cosantóir, August 1968 On 16th April 2019, OC Public Relations Branch, Lt Col Johnny Whit- taker, hosted a double launch of the new military.ie website and the Lt General MJ Costello/An Cosantóir annual awards for Best Article and Best Contributor 2018. After Lt Col Whittaker spoke to those in attendance about military. ie, Sgt Mick 'Tiny' Burke, the Defence Forces Webmaster, gave a dem- onstration and explanation of the website. Then, Mr Tom Skinner, MD of PTools, our partners in building the new site, explained some of its technical aspects, before saying: "It was an absolute pleasure to work with the Defence Forces. You have provided us with excellent content to use, from quality photographs, videos and information." Assistant Chief of Staff, Brig Gen Peter O'Halloran, then took to the podium to thank Sgt Burke, PTools, and the staff of PR Branch for producing an excellent website and for providing and creating the content. Lt Col Whittaker also thanked Director J6, Col Maureen O'Brien, and her staff for their assistance during the project; He also thanked Lt Col Oliver Dwyer, OC 6 Inf Bn, who was OC PR Branch during the tender and building process; and Comdts Pat O'Connor, Colin Lawlor and James O'Hara, who were all involved over the period of the project. The website, which contains fewer main sections than its predeces- sor, mainly focuses on recruitment and careers, along with 'Who We Are', 'What We Do', public informa- tion and news and events. It also includes a new fam- ily section, which has been designed in conjunction with the Personnel Support Services (PSS) to provide support to spouses, partners and parents of personnel serving at home or overseas. Then it was on to the MJ Costello awards, named in honour of the founder of An Cosantóir, which give recognition to excellent contributions to the maga- zine over the year. Michael Joseph Costello, who was born in Clough- jordan, Co Tipperary, in 1904, joined the IRA after his father was arrested by the authorities, and served as an intelligence officer with 1 Brigade, Tipperary, during the War of Independence. When the Civil War broke out, Costello took the pro-Treaty side, serving as a second lieutenant Lt Gen MJ Costello Paul O'Brien's The League of Nations article from the June 2018 special. One of Joe Price's Survival Tac-Aides from November 2018.