Clonan's deployment to Lebanon coincided with the Israeli Operation Grapes of Wrath against Hezbollah which culminated in the massacre of refugees at the village of Qana in April 1996.

Clonan has spoken about his experiences of conflict and trauma in the RTÉ documentary Peacekeepers (2016) and in his first book Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Clonan lectures at the Technological University Dublin (TUD) School of Media in the fields of Ethics, Journalism, Political Communication, Public Affairs and Research Methodology.

[8] He was a security analyst for The Irish Times from the September 11 attacks in 2001 to 2016, reporting and commenting on various world events involving defence, intelligence, terrorism and international relations for various news organisations.

Clonan was formally acknowledged and thanked for his service and contribution to the Defence Forces by the Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett at the Military College, Curragh Camp in November 2019.