Ireland's Inability to Defend Itself • Hacker News Board

Re: Ireland's Inability to Defend Itself

#11

Post by tonymet » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:21 PM UTC

TulliusCicero wrote: post #6

100% agreed with this article. The whole idea of Ireland's supposed neutrality is a farce. Does anyone really think that if a country like Russia decided to full-on invade Ireland, other European nations would just shrug it off? Of course not, and the Irish are well aware of that and rely on it (already they explicitly rely on the UK to help defend their country as a matter of policy). So really it's a simple hypocri…

Nearly Everything consequential in history was unexpected, and for the most part we have a record of someone important saying "that will never happen"

Re: Ireland's Inability to Defend Itself

#12

Post by _dain_ » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:21 PM UTC

sonofhans wrote: post #9

You know, there’s something to be said for Ireland’s attitude. The other islands (ha!) and the continent have treated them as second-class chattel for centuries, while competing amongst themselves for global hegemony. Better to stay out of that game and sort their own business, many of them think.

>Better to stay out of that game

The Russians are making incursions into Irish waters and airspace, it's just a brute fact. So either they play the game, or Britain plays it for them. They don't get to sit aloof above it all, that's not how reality works.

They are a protectorate in all but name, it's disgraceful.

Re: Ireland's Inability to Defend Itself

#13

Post by whenc » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:22 PM UTC

beezlewax wrote: post #10

TulliusCicero wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ireland nobly took a stand against fighting the Nazis in WW2, and they've been similarly brave ever since.

Notably thousands of Irish soldiers did fight the Germans in WW2 but via joining the British Army... an act that was frowned upon at the times. Many were killed.

And when they came back, they were blacklisted by order of the government:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16287211

Re: Ireland's Inability to Defend Itself

#14

Post by reorder9695 » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:22 PM UTC

osiris970 wrote: post #5

Ireland having 0 military capabilities, and being completely dependent on NATO, while being extremely opinionated, on how and what NATO does, always irked me deeply.

Ireland doesn't have 0 military capabilities, they have enough of a military to conduct peacekeeping missions elsewhere, which they don't need to do. They just don't have the ability to defend an invasion, but they do certainly have a military that does good in the world.

Re: Ireland's Inability to Defend Itself

#15

Post by TulliusCicero » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:23 PM UTC

beezlewax wrote: post #10

TulliusCicero wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ireland nobly took a stand against fighting the Nazis in WW2, and they've been similarly brave ever since.

Notably thousands of Irish soldiers did fight the Germans in WW2 but via joining the British Army... an act that was frowned upon at the times. Many were killed.

I don't dispute that there are many brave individual Irish people of course, but in terms of the country as a whole in matters of policy...

Re: Ireland's Inability to Defend Itself

#16

Post by Ekaros » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:23 PM UTC

jmclnx wrote: post #2

My first thought was "defend itself from what ?", but in this new ages of drones, I guess it could be an issue. IIRC, doesn't Ireland pay the UK for some type of defense ?

What if UK would be one to invade them?

Re: Ireland's Inability to Defend Itself

#17

Post by cdilld » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:25 PM UTC

I think Ireland's commitment to pacifism and neutrality is laudable. Too few people live here to be able to defend against attacks from a larger power, and Ireland's strong suit has always been diplomacy, anyway. That obviously annoys people who either (for some unfathomable reason) like war or stand to gain personally from increased defence spending. Fortunately, there is little appetite for the kind of militarisation that the author of this article is hoping for. I'll add, too, that societies organised around the sort of violence, hostility, aggression, and cynicism that go hand in hand with powerful militaries don't seem to be very nice places to live.

Re: Ireland's Inability to Defend Itself

#18

Post by TulliusCicero » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:25 PM UTC

sonofhans wrote: post #9

You know, there’s something to be said for Ireland’s attitude. The other islands (ha!) and the continent have treated them as second-class chattel for centuries, while competing amongst themselves for global hegemony. Better to stay out of that game and sort their own business, many of them think.

Ireland literally has a policy of relying on the UK to defend them.

Re: Ireland's Inability to Defend Itself

#19

Post by Spooky23 » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:26 PM UTC

TulliusCicero wrote: post #7

osiris970 wrote: post #5

Ireland having 0 military capabilities, and being completely dependent on NATO, while being extremely opinionated, on how and what NATO does, always irked me deeply.

Ireland nobly took a stand against fighting the Nazis in WW2, and they've been similarly brave ever since.

[flagged]

Re: Ireland's Inability to Defend Itself

#20

Post by dralley » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:26 PM UTC

cdilld wrote: post #17

I think Ireland's commitment to pacifism and neutrality is laudable. Too few people live here to be able to defend against attacks from a larger power, and Ireland's strong suit has always been diplomacy, anyway. That obviously annoys people who either (for some unfathomable reason) like war or stand to gain personally from increased defence spending. Fortunately, there is little appetite for the kind of militarisati…

There are legitimate practical issues with Ireland not being capable of policing its airspace or marine borders that don't go away just because Ireland is good at diplomacy (an assertion which I question in the first place).