Ireland has a longstanding policy of militaryneutrality, which has meant not joiningmilitary alliances ordefence pacts, or taking part in international conflicts. The nature ofIrish neutrality has varied over time.
TheIrish Free State declared itself aneutral country in 1922, and Ireland remained neutral during theSecond World War; although it allowedAllied military aircraft to fly throughpart of its airspace, and shared intelligence with the Allies (seeIrish neutrality during World War II). During theCold War, it did not joinNATO nor theNon-Aligned Movement.[1] Since the 1970s, some have defined Irish neutrality more broadly to include a commitment to "United Nations peacekeeping, human rights anddisarmament".[1] Recent Irish governments have defined it narrowly as non-membership of military alliances.[1][2] Although the Republic is not in any military alliance, it relies on a NATO member, the United Kingdom, to protect Irish airspace.[3] In recent years, the UK hasintercepted armed Russian bombers flying into Irish airspace. The Republic also allows stopovers by some foreign military aircraft, provided they are not armed.
Ireland is one of fourEuropean Union countries that arenot members of NATO; the others areAustria,Cyprus andMalta. The compatibility of neutrality with Ireland's EU membership has been a point of debate inEU treaty referendum campaigns since the 1990s. TheSeville Declarations on the Treaty of Nice acknowledge Ireland's "traditional policy of military neutrality".[4][5] TheIrish Defence Forces have been involved inmany UN peacekeeping missions.
There are notable differences between Irish neutrality and “traditional” types ofneutral states:
After theSeptember 11 attacks, these conditions were "waived in respect of aircraft operating in pursuit of the implementation of theUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 1368".[8]Irish governments have always said that allowing aircraft to use Irish soil does not constitute participation in any particular conflict and is compatible with a neutral stance, adducing the transit of German troops betweenFinland andNorway through neutralSwedish territory duringWorld War II.
A neutral state may also allow its citizens to serve in the armed forces of other, possiblybelligerent, nations. Ireland does not restrict its citizens from serving in foreign armies, and significant numbers of Irish citizens serve or have served in the British, and to a lesser extent United States armies and theFrench Foreign Legion.[9][10][11]
Ireland's neutrality is in general a matter of government policy rather than a requirement ofstatute law. One exception is Article 29.4.9° of theIrish constitution:[12]
The State shall not adopt a decision taken by theEuropean Council to establish acommon defence pursuant to Article 42 of theTreaty on European Union where that common defence would include the State.
This was originally inserted by the2002 amendment ratifying theTreaty of Nice,[13] and updated by the2009 amendment ratifying theTreaty of Lisbon.[14] An earlier bill intended to ratify the Treaty of Nice did not include a common defence opt-out, and was rejected in thefirst Nice referendum, in 2001.[15]
The Defence Act 1954, the principal statute governing theIrish Defence Forces, did not oblige members of theIrish Army to serve outside the state (members of theAir Corps andNaval Service were not so limited).[16] A 1960 amendment[17] was intended to allow deployment inUnited Nations peacekeeping missions,[18][19] and requires three forms of authorisation, which since the 1990s have come to be called the "triple lock":[20]
These provisions were modified in 1993[21] to allow forChapter VII missions and again in 2006[22] to allow for regionally organised UN missions.[20] In 2025, the government proposed to eliminate the requirement of UN Security Council approval, so that thePermanent members of the United Nations Security Council did not have aveto.[23]
Irish leaders in theNine Years' War (1594–1603) allied withHabsburg Spain, who sent military aid to the Irish.[24] Following their defeat,all of Ireland was adependency ofEngland and then ofGreat Britain. During this period, Catholic soldiers from Ireland fought in the armies of several European Catholic countries, in what is known as theFlight of the Wild Geese. In 1644–1645, during theWars of the Three Kingdoms, theIrish Confederacy sent amilitary expedition to Scotland to help the Scottish Royalists. During theIrish Rebellion of 1798, theUnited Irishmen sought and received military assistance from theFrench First Republic.[24]
Ireland was part of theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1922. WhileIrish unionists supported political integration with Britain,Irish nationalists were divided between those who envisaged some continuing link with Britain and the "advanced nationalists", mainlyrepublicans, who wanted full independence. Separatists generally envisaged an independent Ireland being neutral, but were prepared to ally with Britain's enemies in order to secure that independence, reflected in the maxim "England's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity".[24] At the outbreak of theFirst World War,James Connolly was president of the Irish Neutrality League[25] and was prosecuted for a banner reading "We serve neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland". During the 1916Easter Rising, Connolly and the other leaders of the uprising sought military aid from Germany.[26]
In the 1921 negotiations leading to theAnglo-Irish Treaty,Erskine Childers envisaged theIrish Republic having a neutral status guaranteed in international law on the model ofBelgium andSwitzerland.[27]
TheIrish Free State established in 1922 by theAnglo-Irish Treaty was aDominion of theBritish Commonwealth, with the UK retaining responsibility for Ireland's marine defence as well as three naval bases, the "Treaty Ports". Article 49 of the 1922Constitution of the Irish Free State stated, "Save in the case of actual invasion, the Irish Free State ... shall not be committed to active participation in any war without the assent of theOireachtas [parliament]". In theThird Dáil debate on the draft constitution, theProvisional Government rejected aLabour Party amendment requiring assent of the electorate via referendum.Thomas Johnson argued "The war that is to be guarded against is a war overseas, is a war that this country may be drawn into by Parliament, by the will of Parliament perhaps, at the instigation of perhaps Canada, or perhaps Australia, or perhaps South Africa, or perhaps Great Britain, and the last is very much the more likely".[28]
In theStatute of Westminster 1931, the UK renounced the right to legislate for the Free State. The 1938Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement saw the Treaty Ports handed over to the Free State.
The Free State joined theInternational Committee for Non-Intervention in the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Civil War (Non-Intervention) Act, 1937 made it an offence to travel from Ireland to Spain to fight for either side.[29] This applied both to Irish citizens and nationals of other countries on the committee.[30][31] Nevertheless, there wasIrish involvement in the Spanish Civil War on both sides by private individuals and groups. Another statute related to the committee was the Merchant Shipping (Spanish Civil War) Act 1937, which restricted Irish shipping's access to Spain until 27 April 1939.[32][33]
Ireland remained neutral during World War II. TheFianna Fáil government's position was flagged years in advance byTaoiseachÉamon de Valera and had broad support.James Dillon was the only member ofDáil Éireann to oppose it during the war, resigning fromFine Gael in 1942 and demanding that Ireland assist theAllies (while not necessarily declaring war on theAxis).[34][35] However, tens of thousands of Irish citizens, who were by law British subjects, fought in the Allied armies against the Nazis, mostly in theBritish army. SenatorsJohn Keane andFrank MacDermot also favoured Allied support.[36]
De Valera said in his wartime speeches that small states should stay out of the conflicts of big powers; hence Ireland's policy was officially "neutral", and the country did not publicly declare its support for either side. In practice, whileLuftwaffe pilots who crash-landed in Ireland and German sailors were interned,Royal Air Force (RAF),Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), andUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF) pilots who crashed were released on personal assurances and usually allowed to cross theborder into British territory (although some Allied personnel were also interned[37]). The internees were referred to as "guests of the nation". The German embassy had to pay for their keep. If they were on a non-combative mission they were repatriated. While it was easy for Allied pilots to make that claim, it was not realistic for Luftwaffe pilots to make a similar claim. Towards the end of the war, the German embassy was unable to pay, so the internees had to work on local farms. Strict wartime press censorship had the effect of controlling a moral reaction to the war's unfolding events and reiterated the public position that Irish neutrality was morally superior to the stance of any of the combatants.[38]
Allied military aircraft were allowed to overflyCounty Donegal to bases inCounty Fermanagh. This was known as theDonegal Corridor. The bodies of any crashed Allied airmen were repatriated by the Irish Army at the border, where they would be met by an Allied officer. On at least one occasion, an Allied Air Force officer thanked his Irish counterpart for the honour they bestowed upon the repatriated airmen. The Irish captain was said to reply, "Ours may be the honour, but yours is the glory."[39]
USAAF aircraft flying to North Africa refuelled atShannon Airport andflying boats at nearbyFoynes.[citation needed]
During the war, an estimated 70,000 citizens of neutral Ireland served as volunteers in theBritish Armed Forces (and another estimated 50,000 from Northern Ireland).[38] Those who deserted the Irish Army to serve in the British Army, on returning to Ireland were stripped of all pay and pension rights, and banned for seven years from any employment paid for by state or government funds.[40]
Irishmilitary intelligence (G2) shared information with the British military and even held secret meetings to decide what to do if Germany invaded Ireland to attack Britain, which resulted inPlan W, a plan for joint Irish and British military action should the Germans invade. However GeneralHugo McNeill, the commander of the Irish Second Division based on the Northern Ireland border, had private discussions with the German ambassador,Edouard Hempel, about German military assistance in the event of a British invasion from the north.[41] De Valera declined Germany's offer of captured British weapons.[42] The Germans did have a plan for an invasion of Ireland calledOperation Green, similar to the Allies'Operation Bodyguard, but it was only to be put into operation withOperation Sea Lion, the plan to conquer Britain.
During theBelfast Blitz in April 1941, when the Luftwaffe bombedBelfast in Northern Ireland, De Valera responded immediately to a request for help fromBasil Brooke,Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. Fire engines were sent from the south to help their Belfast colleagues. De Valera formally protested to the German government and made a speech declaring "they are our people".
Irish neutrality during the war was threatened from within by theIrish Republican Army (IRA), which sought to provoke a confrontation between Britain and Ireland. This plan collapsed, however, whenIRA chief of staffSeán Russell died in aU-boat off the Irish coast as part ofOperation Dove; the Germans also later came to realise they had overestimated the capabilities of the IRA. The American ambassador, David Gray, stated that he once asked de Valera, early in the war, what he would do ifGerman paratroopers "liberated"Derry. According to Gray, de Valera was silent for a time and then replied "I don't know."[citation needed]
Many German spies were sent to Ireland, but all were captured quickly as a result of good intelligence and sometimes their ineptitude. The chiefAbwehr spy wasHermann Görtz.
As the state was neutral,Irish cargo ships continued to sail with full navigation lights. They had large tricolours and the word "EIRE" painted large on their sides and decks. Irish ships rescued more than 500 seamen, and some airmen, from many countries during the war. However, many Irish ships were attacked by belligerents on both sides. Over 20% of Irish seamen died, on clearly marked neutral vessels, in theIrish Mercantile Marine during World War II.
Winston Churchill, the British wartime Prime Minister, made an attack on the Irish Government and in particular Éamon de Valera in his radio broadcast onVE Day. Churchill maintained that the British government displayed restraint on the Irish state while the de Valera government were allowed to "frolic with the Germans". Churchill maintained that the British could have invaded the Irish state, but displayed "considerable restraint" in not doing so. De Valera replied to Churchill in a radio broadcast:[43]
Mr. Churchill makes it clear that in certain circumstances he would have violated our neutrality and that he would justify his action by Britain's necessity. It seems strange to me that Mr. Churchill does not see that this, if accepted, would mean that Britain's necessity would become a moral code and that when this necessity became sufficiently great, other people's rights were not to count....this same code is precisely why we have the disastrous succession of wars... shall it be world war number three?
During theCold War, Ireland maintained its policy of neutrality. It did not align itself officially withNATO, theWarsaw Pact, or theNon-Aligned Movement. It refused to join NATO due to a sovereignty dispute over Northern Ireland with the United Kingdom, a NATO member.[44][45][46][47] Ireland offered to set up a separate alliance with the United States but this was refused. This offer was linked in part to the $133 million received from theMarshall Aid Plan.[citation needed]
However, secret transmission of information from the government to theCIA started in 1955. The link was established byLiam Cosgrave via a Mr. Cram and the Irish embassy in London, and was not revealed until December 2007.[48] In 1962–63, during theCuban Missile Crisis,Seán Lemass authorised searches of aircraft that stopped over atShannon while flying betweenWarsaw Pact countries andCuba, for "warlike material".[49]
In 1952 the government agreed a secretmemorandum of understanding with the UK government regardingair defence, under which theRoyal Air Force can apply tointercept hostile aircraft in Irish airspace, conscious of the lack of capability of theIrish Air Corps to do so. The agreement has been renewed by subsequent governments despite misgivings. In 2023, SenatorGerard Craughwell applied to theHigh Court for ajudicial review of its constitutionality.[50]
Ireland applied to join the thenEuropean Communities in 1963 and finallyacceded in 1973.Garret FitzGerald, who was Minister for Foreign Affairs1973–77, claims that both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the 1960s and 1970s accepted that European integration would eventually reach a point where Ireland would have to join in defence co-operation.[51] FitzGerald points toCharles Haughey's opposition to the explicit mention of neutrality in a 1981 Dáil motion,[52] stating that Haughey adopted a more pro-neutrality stance upon entering opposition later in 1981.[51]
The1994 coalition government undertook not to change the policy of military neutrality without a referendum.[53] That government's 1996white paper on foreign policy stated:[53]
It recommended joining NATO'sPartnership for Peace and participating in humanitarian missions of theWestern European Union (WEU), but opposed joining NATO or the WEU as incompatible with military neutrality.[53]
Ireland provided 120 Defence Forces personnel as trainers to theInternational Security Assistance Force mission in the2001–2021 Afghanistan War.[54][55] The personnel were provided under United Nations mandate.[54]
TheFianna Fáil-led government did not take a position on the2003 invasion of Iraq. Ireland, then a member of theUN Security Council, voted "yes" toResolution 1441, which warned of "serious consequences" if Iraq did not comply with weapons inspectors. SomeUnited States Air Force planes were allowed to refuel atShannon Airport before and during the conflict, as were civilian aircraft transporting US military personnel; others had permission to overfly Irish air space. Aresolution of the Dáil on 20 March 2003 approved these arrangements.[56]
Anti-war activist Edward Horgan took a case in theHigh Court seeking declarations that the government, in allowing use of Shannon, had breached the state's obligations as a neutral state. While the court held that thecustom ininternational law was that "a neutral state may not permit the movement of large numbers of troops or munitions of one belligerent State through its territory en route to a theatre of war with another", it found this was not part of Irishdomestic law, as Irish neutrality was "a matter of government policy only". The Dáil resolution implied that letting military aircraft refuel at Shannon did not amount to "participation" in the war, and the courts had no power to overrule the Dáil on this issue.[57]
In 2006, theMinister for Defence,Willie O'Dea, announced that the Irish government would open talks on joining theEuropean Union battle groups. O'Dea said that joining the battlegroups would not affect Ireland's military neutrality, and that a UN mandate would be required for all battlegroup operations with Irish participation.Green Party foreign affairs spokespersonJohn Gormley condemned the decision, saying that the government was "discarding the remnants of Irish neutrality".[58]
TaoiseachEnda Kenny said in 2007: "the truth is, Ireland is not neutral. We are merely unaligned".[59]
In 2012, the Oireachtas established ajoint committee to reviewpetitions submitted by the public. An early petition sought clarification of government policy in relation to the use of Irishairspace by foreign military aircraft. In 2013–16 the committee held discussions with the petitioners, government members, the Secretary General of theDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and academics,[60] and issued a report, which stated:[61]
In 2015, theFine Gael–Labour government published a foreign policy review which stated, "Our policy of military neutrality remains a core element of Irish foreign policy."[62] It defined neutrality as "non-membership of military alliances and non-participation in common or mutual defence arrangements",[63] while working with international organisations for peacekeeping missions.[64]
Since theRussian annexation of Crimea, Russianbomber aircraft have deliberately flown into Irish-controlled airspace several times, without warning, and with theirtransponders switched off. As theIrish Air Corps lacks air defence, the BritishRoyal Air Force (RAF) have had to intercept these bombers.[65] In February 2015, two RussianTupolev Tu-95 "Bear" bombers flew into Irish-controlled airspace twice, with their transponders switched off.[66] The Norwegian and British militaries confirmed that the bombers were carryingnuclear warheads.[67] The bombers flew within 25 nautical miles of the Irish coast, and were intercepted by RAFEurofighter Typhoon jets.[68]
Ireland joined the EU'sPermanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) when it was founded in December 2017. TheFine Gael-led government said it would participate on a case-by-case basis and membership did not compromise neutrality. Fianna Fáil supported membership; Sinn Féin, the Greens,Solidarity, andPeople Before Profit opposed it; the Labour Party had reservations.[69]
In January 2022, during thebuildup to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russiacontroversially announced plans to hold naval drills about 150 nautical miles off the coast, within Ireland'sexclusive economic zone. It was to involve naval artillery and missiles. Local fishermen protested to the Russian embassy and announced they would continue to fish in the area regardless. Russia's Ambassador to Ireland,Yury Filatov, warned the fishermen to "refrain from any provocative actions which might endanger all involved".[70] Eventually, in response to requests from the Irish government, Russia's Minister of DefenceSergey Shoigu agreed to move the naval drills further away from Ireland.[71]
In a Dáil discussion that month on the Russo-Ukrainian crisis,Richard Boyd Barrett ofPeople Before Profit asked:[72]
TaoiseachMicheál Martin replied:[72]
In response to Russia'sinvasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, theTánaisteLeo Varadkar stated that while Ireland is not militarily aligned, the country is "not neutral at all" in relation to this conflict and that "support for Ukraine is unwavering and unconditional".[73] Days later theDepartment of Foreign Affairs said it would "constructively abstain" from an EU fund formilitary aid to Ukraine, but contribute instead to a fund that did not include weaponry.[74]
Since the invasion, the Irish Navy and Air Corps have increasingly observed Russian "spy ships" believed to be mapping critical undersea communications cables and energy pipelines off the Irish coast. Some of them are escorted by Russian warships and are fitted with equipment for sabotaging undersea cables.[75][76][77]
In March 2023 a bill to hold a referendum on Irish membership in a hypotheticalEuropean army was opposed by the government, who called it "unnecessary".[78] Micheál Martin said that if the referendum had taken place he was confident it would have passed and that Ireland needs to 'reflect' on the issue of neutrality.[79]
AConsultative Forum on International Security Policy was held in Dublin, Cork and Galway during 2023. It was a public forum to discuss Ireland's foreign, security and defence policy. Micheál Martin, then Minister for Defence and Foreign Affairs, said every country in Europe had reviewed their defence and security in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[80][81][82]President of Ireland,Michael D. Higgins, rebuffed the forum, saying that Ireland was drifting away from neutrality and "playing with fire". His comments were criticised by government ministers.[83][84][85] The forum was disrupted by anti-NATO protesters from theConnolly Youth Movement; with Martin describing them as "undemocratic" and "trying to shut down debate".[86] Boyd Barrett accused those involved in the forum of "trying to soften up public opinion to abandoning Ireland's neutrality."[87]
Irish Defence Forces have seen active service as part of United Nationspeacekeeping activities – initially in the early 1960sCongo Crisis, and subsequently inCyprus (UNFICYP) andLebanon (UNIFIL).
A 2004 report byForfás noted that the policy of neutrality is a factor in Ireland's lack of anarms industry and strictexport controls on weapons.[88] The latter were previously enforced by the Control of Exports (Goods and Technology) Order 2009,[89] astatutory instrument made under the Control of Exports Act 1983.[90] The 2009 order was replaced by the Control of Exports (Goods and Technology) Order 2012, which reflects the 2008 EU Common Position on Arms Exports.[91][92] The 2004 Forfás report noted concerns aboutdual-use technology and the use as weapons components of products frommajor Irish export industries such as chemicals, telecommunications equipment, computer chips and software.[93] The state is also bound by EU regulations and internationalarms control treaties.[94][91] In 2017, four export licence applications were refused for dual-use items.[91] In the 1980s and early 1990s, successive governments rebuffed proposals by companies includingEurometaal andThyssen Henschel to establish arms manufacturing and repair plants in the state, on the grounds that it might compromise neutrality and that there was then no specific legislation limiting the area to which the arms could be exported.[95]
Ireland's policy of military neutrality has long been an important strand of our independent foreign policy and is characterised by non-membership of military alliances or common or mutual defence arrangements.