The largest military exercise in Ireland in recent years is under way at Kilworth in Co Cork..

The exercise, code named Dark Nights, involves 650 men and women from the Defence Forces and will continue until tomorrow.

A number of military convoys consisting of armoured personnel carriers, troop transporters and logistics support vehicles began converging on the exercise location yesterday.

Soldiers are taking part in tactical military exercises involving surveillance, target acquisition, intelligence gathering and assaults.

Throughout last night, soldiers were involved in manoeuvres in the Kilworth Mountains, a few kilometres north of Mitchelstown.

Periodically, magnesium flares known as paralumes lit up the night sky as part of the exercise.