‘We’re being pulled into a war machine’: Leitrim events sound alarm over threats to Irish neutrality

Two public events in Leitrim over the weekend brought urgent attention to the Government’s proposed removal of the Triple Lock – a key safeguard of the country’s military neutrality.

Residents gathered in Ballinamore and Manorhamilton to hear from the ‘Neutrality Roadshow,’ made up of peace activists, researchers and academics who warned of the growing threats to Ireland’s neutral status in an increasingly militarised Europe.

The Triple Lock mechanism – in place since 2001 – requires three approvals before more than 12 Irish troops can be deployed overseas: from the Cabinet, the Dáil and a United Nations mandate. 

Last week, the Government published legislation aiming to dismantle it, citing concerns that countries with veto power – in particular China and Russia, could block Irish peacekeeping missions.

However, no Irish troop deployment has ever been vetoed by Russia or China or any other country at the UN Security Council. In fact, most UN vetoes have been to block US-backed military interventions, undermining a core argument for scrapping the Triple Lock.

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The first talk took place in McGirl’s Bar in Ballinamore on May 24 and the second in the Bee Park in Manorhamilton on May 25.

Speakers included Niamh Ní Bhriain, a peace activist and Programme Coordinator with the Transnational Institute in The Hague; Fionn Wallace, a former parliamentary researcher with the Dáil and the European Parliament with expertise in foreign defence and security policy; and Patrick Bresnihan, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Maynooth University and a member of Academics for Palestine.

Independent councillor Eddie Mitchell also addressed the audience in Manorhamilton.

In her opening remarks in Manorhamilton, Niamh Ní Bhriain warned that “successive Irish Governments have been “chipping away Irish neutrality for decades.”

She cited Shannon Airport, where US military planes regularly stop to refuel, and pointed to Israeli overflights carrying weapons through Irish airspace, “as Israel arms and perpetrates a genocide.”

On the threat posed by removing the Triple Lock, Niamh said, “It’s a matter of urgency because it will remove a safeguard that may see Ireland dragged into war in EU Battlegroups and potentially in NATO-led military missions.”

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She noted that In March, 139 Irish troops participated in an EU Battlegroup training exercise in Hungary, led by Germany – a sign of increasing military integration.

Fionn Wallace echoed the urgency, “They’re not proposing to scrap it because they want to send troops to Congo or to Gaza or to Sudan. They want to do it because they want to be able to send Irish troops to war, alongside the EU or NATO.”

“We are slowly being pulled into a war machine,” he said. Ireland has long been known for its neutrality, a principle that has become a source of national pride. He noted that if the Triple Lock is dismantled, we will be taking a step further away from being a country that is respected and seen as a peace builder, to one that is “simply part of a Western imperial bloc.”

“This is not about whether Irish troops should be helping people, or working in conflict zones – this is about whether we, as a country, get to have a say in that,” he added.

Patrick Bresnihan reminded attendees that neutrality is more than just a foreign policy stance – it’s a framework for imagination and dignity.

“What neutrality gives us is the capacity to imagine different kinds of futures. It gives us a capacity to not be part of these very powerful polarising logics of good and evil, east and west, empire and its enemies.

“It’s not about left and right. It’s about ordinary people – it’s about people trying to live their lives in dignity and safety,” he said.

Cllr Eddie Mitchell offered a local lens on how neutrality is being undermined by Ireland’s growing ties with US corporate infrastructure, from LNG terminals to data centres.

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“What we need is a radical campaign that's evidence-based in Ireland, and we need to tie all of the campaigns that are working on peace and justice and climate together,” Cllr Mitchell said.

He also warned: “Ireland is being repositioned as a strategic outpost for US military and corporate interests.”

With the Government aiming to push through the scrapping of the Triple Lock before the Dáil’s summer recess, Niamh Ní Bhriain called for urgent grassroots action, including public protest, political pressure on a local and Government level and collective organising to protect Ireland’s neutrality and prevent deeper militarisation.

The overarching message of the speakers was clear: if Irish troops are sent into imperialist wars, it is working-class communities that will bear the burden, and Ireland risks losing its unique position as a voice for peace it has long held in the world.

Attendees in McGirl's Bar, Ballinamore on Saturday, May 24