Custume Barracks soldiers reminisce over viral Lebanese man with Athlone accent

By Rebekah O'Reilly

Former Irish Defence Forces peacekeepers reminisce over viral clip of the Lebanese man with the Athlone accent, Khalel Haidar from South Lebanon.

The clip, which originally aired as part of Virgin Media One's 2022 documentary titled The Leb: Inside Camp Shamrock, has been making the rounds on social media, landing in the Athlone Down Memory Lane Facebook page last week.

Many soldiers remember Khalel and his family from their time in the Lebanon, with fond memories of him peeling spuds in the cookhouse.

Accounts from Athlone's Custume Barracks peacekeepers place Khalel at Camp Shamrock as far back as the 1970's.

It is thanks to this lengthy relationship that the Lebanese man has developed such a thick and undeniably Midlands accent.

“Of course he picked up the accent – he was always around the lads from Athlone,” said former Irish Defence Forces chef Tommy Kelly. “He was always a nice lad, and he was a hard worker.”

When asked how he felt when he saw the viral clip of Khalel, Tommy said: “Khalel would've been 14 or 15 when I was there, so it was funny to see the video online. It brought back the good memories – and we'll forget about the rest!”

For Irish Defence Forces Darren Greene, he said the whole Haidar family made a big impact on the soldiers deployed to the camp in South Lebanon.

“When I first met Khalel back in 1998, he was working in the cookhouse in post 616 C. Company. His house was just outside the camp and had a gate leading into the post,” said Darren.

Darren noted that the Haidar family became integrated as part of the Irish army community in Camp Shamrock.

“The whole family are lovely people and have adjusted to Irish moral meaning they can give a slag just as much as take one," Darren said.