Military Star

The Military Star (An Réalt Míleata) is a military decoration awarded to those members of the Irish Defence Forces or Chaplaincy Service who were killed or mortally wounded in the line of duty as a result of hostile action by an armed enemy. Initially only awarded for service related deaths that occurred outside of Ireland, in 2012 the award criteria were changed to allow awards for those killed in Ireland.

Appearance
The medal is bronze and takes the shape of an eight-pointed star 35 mm wide. The obverse of the medal depicts Cúchulainn in death in the centre of the medal. The reverse is blank so that the deceased soldier's name, army number, and date and location of death may be engraved.

The medal hangs from a ribbon 35 mm wide. The ribbon is purple with 2 mm black stripes at the edge. In the centre is a white stripe 8 mm wide bisected by a 2 mm stripe of orange. The white stripe is bordered by 4 mm green stripes on either side.

The ribbon is suspended at the top from a bronze bar bearing the word, in relief, REMEMBRANCE.

The medal and ribbon were designed by Corporal Dan O'Connell, Defence Forces Ceremonial (now retired).