Letters to the Editor: Food for thought in Irish neutrality debate

One reader questions what our neutrality means, while another asks why the Irish Government accepts lesser standards of justice for its murdered citizens than the UK and US authorities do for theirs

Letter-writer John O'Brien wonders whether Ireland is neutral at all. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

The Oireachtas European Union affairs committee recently heard from Kenneth McDonagh, the head of the School of Law and Government at DCU, and Ben Tonra, professor of international relations at the UCD School of Politics and International Relations.

The two academics spoke about neutrality and security and what this actually means. What they had to say was most intriguing, and should provide introspection for all of us when it comes to the emotive subject of our neutrality.

They looked at our neutrality from the perspective of Ireland in the EU context as well as in the global context.

They both said what we already knew apropos to there being significant gaps in Ireland’s capability to defend itself on a number of fronts. Professor McDonagh posed a number of questions around what Ireland will have to do about it. He was wondering would Ireland have to have greater interaction with the Permanent Structured Cooperation (Pesco) or does it mean more partnerships with Nato?

I am now asking myself what our neutrality actually means.

Prof Tonra observed that everything that we as country have come to expect has been completely and utterly upended over the last couple of years.

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We have had the Russian brutality on Ukraine as well as their complete disregard for international treaties and policies.

Prof Tonra also spoke of what a Donald Trump presidency would mean for Ireland in the context of our security and our neutrality, and other things such as what Donald Trump’s relationship with Nato would look like.

What I took from this Oireachtas meeting was — how can Ireland defend itself against a foreign attack? What disparities are there, and what is actually our strategy vis-à-vis our neutrality? When all is said and done, one wonders are we neutral at all.

John O’Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary

1974 bombings were Ireland’s 9/11

The pursuance of justice for the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the Miami Showband massacre is no less worthy than the pursuance of justice by the British government for those killed and bereaved at Lockerbie, nor is it any less worthy than the pursuance by the US of the perpetrators of the attack on the Twin Towers in New York in 2001.

If the Irish Government had in its possession files which might be of assistance in identifying those responsible for the Birmingham and Guildford pub bombings in Britain in 1974 in which 26 innocent people lost their lives and if, following a request from the British government to release these files, they refused, would Ireland’s head of state be afforded a British State visit? Of course not. 

The British government and the British people would be rightly outraged. Ireland would be regarded as a pariah nation and treated accordingly.

President Michael D Higgins marks the 50th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. Picture: Maxwells

In seeking justice for those who were killed and bereaved in the Lockerbie bombing, the British government secured a trial, conviction, extradition, and substantial compensation for the victims.

Likewise, the US went to war in defence of those killed on 9/11.

The Dublin and Monaghan bombings are Ireland’s Lockerbie and 9/11. Why does the Irish Government accept lesser standards of justice for its own citizens who have been murdered than the UK and US authorities do for their citizens?

Tom Cooper, Templeogue, Dublin 6W

Israel is more violent than Hamas

US president Biden, in his reaction to the International Criminal Court (ICC) decision to prepare arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, vehemently rejected the suggestion that those two entities are comparable.

He is of course correct: Israel is far more violent, far more racist, and far more aggressive. The evidence, tragically, is all too clear and undeniable.

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What a catastrophe for all concerned, for all the world. It would exacerbate that terrible situation if Biden’s preposterous denials helped Donald Trump win in November.

As a philosopher warned decades ago, the only way America can be defeated is from within — a defeat that would resonate across, and deeply, in our world.

Jack Power, Inniscarra, Cork

American inconsistency on ICC

It’s more than a little churlish when the president of a country that presumptuously describes itself as the self-appointed leader of the free world takes it upon himself to criticise the decisions of the ICC prosecutor to recommend proceeding with charging Benjamin Netanyahu and his mate Yoav Gallant for war crimes, although two out of three ain’t bad.

Not that long ago, a former US president had no such qualms about the court going ahead with the trial and conviction of Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes, going so far as supplying classified documents that implicated the former Serbian president in the chain of command responsible for war crimes against the ethnic Albanian population of Kosovo, even though the US itself is not a member of the ICC, along with other countries it labels rogue states such as Iraq and Libya.

Palestinians hold posters depicting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president Joe Biden at a rally in Nablus. Picture: Majdi Mohammed/AP

Interestingly, the current president of Russia — a member of the ICC — is subject of an international arrest warrant by the same court.

The decision of ICC prosecutor Karim Khan has been likened to unleashing a thunderbolt. Rather apt I thought, although in this case the targets will have no effective equivalent of patriot missiles, iron domes, or rapid-fire machine guns capable of taking down a bolt from the blue that’s tipped with some things more deadlier than nuclear warheads — truth and reality.

Liam Power, Dundalk, Co Louth

The Famine and Israel’s actions

A Famine commemoration was recently held at Longford. The actions of the British Empire in Ireland — occupation, denial of basic rights etc — contributed to this tragic famine.

Considering the ongoing actions of the government of Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza, where people are not only killed on a daily basis but denied food, water, and medical facilities, and in the occupied West Bank where Palestinians are driven from their homes and land, I suggest it was
inappropriate to invite the Israeli ambassador to this event.

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The invitation was an insult to the Irish people who died or were driven from their homes during the Famine. I would urge the public to express their view on the matter to their elected representatives.

Michael A Moriarty, Rochestown, Cork

Rapid-build homes

While a method of rapidly building houses is welcome, there are other considerations that affect delivery.

Location: Less desirable land is likely to be used for emergency or fast-tracked accommodation, understandably, so it makes the housing less desirable.

Infrastructure: All the ‘bottom of the iceberg’ stuff that is unseen but essential, including sewerage, drainage, power, and roads.

Services: Large housing estates without facilities such as play space, transport, and community services are challenging to live in.

Design: Row after row of identical dwellings give no sense of belonging, or creation of neighbourhoods, so people feel less invested in where they live.

The actual structure of the house is a smaller part of the overall supply of a home than people imagine. It may be the reason that modular, fast-track housing has yet to deliver on its promise.

Barbara Carr, North Circular Rd, Limerick