The Defence Forces has expressed its disappointment with comments made by Colin Fennelly about his first tour of duty in the Lebanon.

Speaking to the media ahead of Ballyhale Shamrocks' All-Ireland club SHC semi-final against Ballygunner next weekend, the former solider said he had "nothing to do" and that there was "zero job satisfaction" to be got from being a soldier.

"We were literally just stuck in a camp for five months," the Kilkenny star said. 

"You could go out and do your drive-throughs and all that, look at the place. But you have patrols where you are literally going 10 miles an hour for five hours. Just sitting in the back of a jeep. Literally, nothing going on. Very quiet over there. It’s not that I’m saying we wanted hassle or I wanted something to do – there’s a fine line there. But it was very quiet.

“Zero job satisfaction – compared to the job I’m in now. I did construction management in college [Cork IT], project management then; just a massive difference. You can see what you’re building, what’s going ahead. Out in Cherrywood at the moment there is massive projects going on out there.”

Last night, the Defence Forces issued the following statement to Off The Ball in reply to Fennelly's comments:

"We are surprised and disappointed to hear these comments from a former member. Óglaigh na hÉireann takes pride in our members who achieve at the highest levels in sport.

"However, whilst sport is an integral aspect of our culture, it is not the only aspect. Óglaigh na hÉireann prides itself on the dedication and sacrifice that it's men, women and their families make daily in defence of the state, assisting government agencies and working in multi-national peacekeeping missions.

"We also offer unique career opportunities and specialist training for our soldiers, sailors and aircrew who wish to develop themselves personally and professionally."

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