A Co Cavan soldier on foot patrol in Afghanistan died in a blast from a bomb hidden in the wall of a concrete compound, an inquest into his death heard.
Ranger Justin Cupples, 29, of 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, was part of a mission to clear an area of Improvised Explosive Devices near an operating base in Sangin, Helmand Province, when he died on September 4, 2008.
The inquest into Rgr Cupples death heard on Wednesday that the group had already found one IED with the help of a sniffer dog called Trio and successfully removed it.
After clearing the area over a period of six hours the soldiers, wearing night-vision goggles, decided to go back along the same route to their base.
But as Rgr Cupples' section turned a bend the command wire of an IED was activated fatally wounding him.
Despite attempts to stop his bleeding and resuscitate him, Rgr Cupples was stretchered back to base where he was airlifted to Camp Bastion and pronounced dead.
The inquest, in Trowbridge, heard from Rgr Cupples' colleagues who were on patrol with him that they only checked walls with IED detection equipment if they saw something that concerned them as they walked along.
A US bomb disposal technician, who has not been identified at the request of the US military, said the device was tripped by a command wire, a hair thin wire almost impossible to see.
Known as 'Cups' to his friends, Rgr Cupples was born in the United States and served with the US Navy during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
His family lived in Miami before moving to Co Cavan in the Republic of Ireland, where he met his Lithuanian wife Vilma, whom he married in 2006.
The Ministry of Defence said that Ranger Cupples was trained in speaking Pashtu which often meant his platoon was able to deploy without an interpreter as he could communicate with locals.
Lt Col Ed Freely, commanding officer, said at the time of his death: "Justin Cupples was a character. He stood out as such. I always thought of him as our 'US Ranger'.
"He was drawn to the Battalion by the Irish fighting spirit and camaraderie."
He added: "He was an intelligent, bright soldier. He was never shy to offer an opinion.
"Ranger Cupples was a true Irish Ranger - tough, committed and dedicated to his comrades."
© Press Association