20 Facts About Tom Clonan

Tom Clonan was elected to Seanad Eireann at the 2022 Dublin University by-election.

Tom Clonan grew up in Finglas, Dublin and attended St Kevin's College, Dublin school in Ballygall.

Tom Clonan completed a Bachelor in Education degree at Trinity College Dublin, graduating in 1987, before joining the Irish Army as a cadet in 1989.

In 1995, Tom Clonan deployed to South Lebanon as an officer commanding Irish troops under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon mission in that country.

Tom Clonan has spoken about his experiences of conflict and trauma in the RTE documentary Peacekeepers and in his first book Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Tom Clonan was an OSCE election monitor in Bosnia during the Dayton Agreement in 1996.

Between 1996 and 2000 Tom Clonan was given formal written sanction by the Chief of Staff and the Director of Training at Defence Forces Headquarters to undertake a PhD at DCU as the first equality audit of the Irish military, titled "The Status and Roles Assigned Female Personnel in the Permanent Defence Forces".

Tom Clonan was the subject of 'Whistleblower Reprisal' from senior officers for whistleblowing.

Tom Clonan was a security analyst for The Irish Times from the September 11 attacks in 2001 to 2016, reporting and commenting on various world events involving defence, intelligence, terrorism and international relations for various news organisations.

Tom Clonan is currently a security analyst and columnist for Irish online news platform, TheJournal.

Tom Clonan is the author of two best-selling books, Blood, Sweat and Tears and Whistleblower, Soldier, Spy.

In November 2019, Tom Clonan was recognised by the Irish military authorities for his PhD research which helped transform the culture of the Irish Armed Forces with regard to Equality, Diversity and Dignity in the Workplace.

Tom Clonan was formally acknowledged and thanked for his service and contribution to the Defence Forces by the Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett at the Military College, Curragh Camp in November 2019.

Tom Clonan ran for election to the 25th Seanad in 2016 for the Dublin University constituency, but was unsuccessful.

Tom Clonan ran again in 2020, increasing his vote but the incumbent senators retained their seats.

Tom Clonan stood again at the 2022 Dublin University by-election, beating Maureen Gaffney on the sixteenth count.

In 2025 Tom Clonan argued that Irish neutrality should remain a core principle, but it is often misunderstood.

Tom Clonan emphasised that Ireland has always followed a policy of military non-alignment, meaning it is not part of any formal military alliance like NATO, but has historically cooperated with Western powers when necessary.

Tom Clonan believes that in the face of changing global security dynamics, Ireland must adapt by investing in its military to maintain its neutrality while ensuring its own security.

Tom Clonan is opposed to the dropping of the "triple lock", a constitutional rule which mandates that the Irish Defence Forces can only be activated outside of Ireland with the consent of the United Nations, the Irish government and Dail Eireann.