‘I was standing in Ukraine in a graveyard not far from the front line, and all these fresh graves with all the flowers on them and I’m just saying to myself, what’s this all about?’

Ray Lane has worked with the Irish Defence Forces, the UN, EU and Nato. As his memoir is published, he talks about witnessing the darkest depths of humanity Innovative use of APOPO dogs in the identification of mines and explosive devices in Ukraine in June 2024 Being called to the border to defuse a 1,000kg bomb planted by the IRA was to be the beginning of an extraordinary career for Ray Lane, a former member of the Irish Defence Forces, an organisation in which he served for 45 years. Ray has served overseas in many missions with the UN, EU and NATO in Lebanon, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Somalia.

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