An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir October 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 36 | Peter McGuinness Pte HQ coy, 27 inf Bn I had always wanted to join the Defence Forces since I was very young. My inspiration was my parents as both had served in WWII. Prior to the war my fa- ther had served for about a year in the Defence Forces based in Cathal Brugha Bks; he left to join the British Army so he could join the war, he eventually landed on Gold beach during the Normandy landings. My mother ironically was German and at the same time had been serving in the German Auxiliary, her position consisted of being a medical assistant to nurses in hospitals for wounded soldiers, another was part of an anti-aircraft battery team and she ended up as a telephone operator. I am very proud to say that both my parents served and fought in WWII. I've also got three older brothers that served in the Defence Forces, two of them served in the 27 Inf Bn and one in the 5 Inf Bn, eventually all three ended up serving in the 27 Inf Bn. Before I joined I worked in Mosney holiday camp do- ing security and in the winter off seasons I worked in a restaurant/bar. Prior to joining the DF I served in the FCA as it was then known for 4-years. I always felt as a young man that it was my destiny to join the full time army and on 7th November 1985, I started my journey. I didn't even put a thought towards the question of failure during training as I felt I had a very proud tradition to uphold within my family. On 13th May 1986 I got posted to Sp Coy 27 Inf Bn, where I served for 12-years between 1986 and 1998. Within this period I completed three tours to Lebanon and won four all army and nine command 81mm mortar trophies, I also competed in the All Army Rifle competitions for 14-years. In total I've served over- seas six times, three to the Lebanon with the 61st, 64th and 81st Battalions and three to Kosovo with the 3rd Tpt Coy, 33rd and 41st Infantry Groups. While serving in HQ Coy, 27 Inf Bn I was attached to 2 LSB for 5-years in the cloth- ing stores, where I found my passion for tailoring, something to which I always had an interest in. When I started tailoring it was as an under- study to tailor for 2-years, before retiring. I could almost say I was self taught, working at home and getting my mother in-law to teach me how to use the sewing ma- chines. I really felt that I had found my calling and started buying books and watching videos on TV and online to hone my skills as a tailor. In August 2013 PDFORRA had requested that all DF tailors would be trained as there were very few active tailors at that time, I was offered a place on a tailoring course, which I happily took. The course took place in Griffith College. I was lucky enough to be nominated as Class President. The course was held over a month, in total 10 soldiers went on the course and got qualified. Although I went into the course with a good working knowledge I still learnt an awful lot about the trade of tailoring. Back in my home unit I am constantly being challenged by soldiers look- ing to get me to customise their kit and equipment. If someone comes to me with a problem I believe if I can't solve it, it can't be solved. I like to think of myself as a perfectionist and I'm a true believer that there is no such thing as a 5-minute-job, it takes as long as it takes to get the job done right. As the barracks tailor I also do a small bit of barbering at the same time and have dedicated a desk and mirror in my workshop to facilitate the odd hair cut, but my true passion is tailoring. In November of this year I will have served 29-years and hope to contin- ue tailoring for the rest of my army career. "There is no such thing as a 5 minute job"

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