Admiral mark mellett to be new chiefofstaff

A CASTLEBAR man has been approved by government as the new chief-of-staff of the Defence Forces.

Admiral Mark Mellett, Rathbawn Road, has been serving as deputy chief-of-staff of the Irish Defence Forces since November 2013 and will up the leading role when the current chief-of-staff, Lieutenant-General Conor O’Boyle, retires in September.

Mark Mellett was educated at St. Gerald’s College and first joined the Navy in 1976.

He commanded the LE Orla, LE Ciara and LE Eithne as well as holding a broad range of appointments in naval headquarters and was Commandant of the Naval College and Associate Head of the National Maritime College of Ireland.

He has citations for service in Afghanistan and Lebanon and received the Distinguished Service Medal for his role in the detention of the drug-smuggling yacht 'Brime'.

Mark becomes the first naval officer has been appointed to the position of chief of staff.

Rear Admiral Mellett is a founding member of the Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster (IMERC) and a member of its governing authority.

He has a PHD (2009) in Political Science from the National University of Ireland Galway and is married to Liz and they have four children, Laura, Sean, Lisa and Patrick. 

Minister of Defence Simon Coveney said: 'I congratulate Rear Admiral Mellett on his appointment and look forward to working closely with him in the future.'