Landmark €2m settlement for Air Corps chemical exposure survivor

The smell of jet fuel still haunts Gary Coll. Now 51 and forced to walk with the aid of a rollator, the former Irish Air Corps technician just secured a landmark €2 million settlement from the State. His case cracks open a toxic legacy at Casement Aerodrome, where nine former colleagues have similar lawsuits pending.

Those who knew Coll in the 1990s struggle to reconcile memories of the strapping athlete with the gaunt man who requires assistance dressing. Fresh out of school, he’d represented the Air Corps in both rugby and rowing after he enlisted in 1991. He is also well known within Defence Forces circles for setting the record for the 10k run.

By 25, his body rebelled: sudden heart palpitations, ulcers eating through his stomach lining, a nervous system that left him shivering in the heat of the Summer. His wife Shelia has commented on how she witnessed a change in his personality, with Gary becoming more reserved and aggressive. Gary Coll, once an elite-level athlete, now suffers from stomach issues, severe anxiety, slow heart rate, memory loss and chronic fatigue. He attributes these issues to the prolonged toxic chemical exposure he sustained while in the Air Corps.

The noxious truth about Baldonnel

Internal documents reveal what Coll’s case sought to hammer home: workshops lacked basic ventilation. “There was fumes, chemicals being used openly with no extraction systems, within feet of where you worked” Coll has detailed. Technicians routinely handled carcinogens like trichloroethylene without masks, using gasoline to wash grease from their hands. The complete lack of health and safety guidance and basic PPE left him and others exposed to constant daily harm.

But it’s the alleged “tubbing” incidents that chill most – initiation rituals where Coll details that he and others were dunked him in vats of degreaser and other chemical solutions. These incidents were described as widespread, yet no senior officers intervened to stop this practice despite the likelihood of long-term danger to those exposed.

Gary submits that the tubbing practice led to hair turning white after the exposure, and he details that he developed tremors in his hands. While the State denied all claims, the 1994 memos leaked showed officers requesting protective gear that never arrived due to “budget constraints.”

A War of Attrition

Coll’s 2014 lawsuit became a bureaucratic nightmare. Hearings were postponed 17 times. Three ministers promised reforms; none delivered. Even Micheál Martin, who once called Coll’s ordeal “a horror story” went silent after becoming Taoiseach. “He turned out to be nothing of the sort when it came to Air Corps chemical poisoning survivors. He turned his back on us from the moment he got into power.” Coll has indicated that the State “is hiding behind the State Claims Agency, hiding behind the Courts.”

Meanwhile, the body count grows. Gavin Tobin, a former technician and now a prominent campaigner and whistle-blower, has collated a list of over 100 ex-Air Corps personnel under 65 who have died since 1990: liver failures, aggressive cancers and heart attacks. The average age of death of those former Air Corps personnel is 53 years of age, a shocking figure when compared to the national average of 83 years of age.

Why this settlement matters

The €2 million payout avoids liability but sets a precedent. Crucially, Coll refused to sign an NDA. Particularly, he took exception to how the response from the Minister and the Defence Forces drew adverse inferences on his character; “I have been fighting this for more than 10 years when all I ever wanted right from the beginning was help to deal with my health as it progressively got worse.

But they not only refused to help me, but they also refused to accept what had happened and treated me as if I was making it all up.” With a judge-led tribunal now underway, the focus shifts to the pending cases and whether Ireland will finally acknowledge the apparent issues related to chemical exposure in Baldonnell.

A well fought step forward, but the fight continues

Gary Coll’s €2 million settlement marks a watershed moment in the battle to recognise toxic chemical exposure in the Irish Air Corps. While the State refused to admit liability, the sheer scale of those who have come forward, either with cases or as part of the Defence Forces Tribunal, suggests that Coll’s experience is far from isolated.

With nine additional lawsuits in the pipeline and a judge-led tribunal now examining the Defence Forces’ handling of hazardous substances, the question remains: will the State continue to avoid accountability, or will systemic change finally follow? For Coll and his former colleagues, the fight was never just about financial redress – it was about exposing the truth and protecting future generations of personnel from the same fate.

If the denial, delay, and deflection pattern continues, Ireland risks repeating history rather than learning from it. Whether this case sparks real reform or becomes another buried scandal remains to be seen. But for Gary Coll, the battle has always been about more than just himself. It’s a warning, an unwavering demand for justice and a refusal to let those responsible walk away.