Irish neutrality will be protected and copperfastened by a Yes vote to Lisbon. Irish neutrality will be seriously undermined by a treaty bristling with military articles, so it is wiser to vote No.
The Irish people have a right to be concerned about the militarisation of the EU but in truth the real issues have become fogged - deliberately or accidentally? - by the constant throwing about of the word ‘neutrality’.
‘Irish neutrality’ is misleading. Ireland is not neutral, never has been, never will be. Since independence Ireland has never been properly neutral, but always chosen what side it wants to be on in any given conflict.
The first hint of this came during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39. In the Dáil, Fine Gael deputies were screaming for de Valera to formally send Irish troops to assist Franco, who had led a coup d’état against the republican government.
De Valera resisted, saying he would not align Ireland with any Fascist state or movement. Although not a formal endorsement of the Spanish Republicans, Ireland had subtly chosen which side it least favoured.
The major test came during World War II. De Valera declared that Ireland was officially neutral - a wise move given that the young State was too weak militarily and economically to take on Nazi Germany. If the French could not resist Blitzkrieg, how could Ireland?
In reality though neutrality was a figleaf. Ireland was anything but neutral. It was thoroughly pro-Allies.
In the dark days of 1941, when Britain stood alone against the Germans who had by now engulfed Europe, Ireland (and Britain ) knew that if Ireland were invaded, the Nazis would use it as a stepping stone and Britain too could be lost.
As such de Valera was pragmatic and wise to approve of covert pro-Allied actions in Ireland. Weather information was shared with the British (vital for air and naval movements ), the British were allowed to open up diplomatic missions in Ireland and station military, naval, and air attachés there.
The Irish State also provided assistance to Belfast when it was bombed in 1941 and allowed the Allies use the ‘Donegal Corridor’ - a narrow strip of Irish territory linking Lough Erne to the international waters of the Atlantic, over which the Government permitted flights by British military aircraft.
Irish diplomats spied for the USA during the course of the war and provided information to the CIA’s forerunner, the OSS.
Above all, and surely Nazi spies were aware of this, of the 140 Allied flights that came down in Ireland during the war, the planes were refuelled, or if damaged repaired, in Ireland, and survivors were repatriated to the North to re-enter active service.
By contrast, of the 18 German flights that came down, the crews were interned in the Curragh for the duration of the war, as were numerous German citizens living in Ireland. All the above was carried out with the full knowledge and approval of de Valera.
(Interestingly, 18,600 men from the Irish State fought in the British army in WWII - far more than the 11,500 that went from so called ‘Loyal Ulster’. )
These were not the actions of a neutral country. These were the actions of a country making an effort, on the side of the Allies, against Nazism. That is nothing to be ashamed of (apart form the horrid faux pas of offering the German ambassador condolences on the death of Hitler ) and Ireland deserves more credit that the abuse it normally gets for its stance in WWII.
If you are still in doubt that Ireland is neutral, then think of this - thousands of US troops are using Shannon as a stop off point before being deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Government has turned a blind eye towards suspected rendition flights. These are not the actions of a neutral country but of a country doing George W Bush’s bidding.
We should stop using the term ‘neutral’ because we are not. Instead, talk of neutrality masks the real issue at stake in debates about the militarisation of the EU - choice.
Will further EU integration deprive us of the right to choose with which conflicts we wish to become involved? Will it result in conscription which the Irish have always rightly opposed? Will we have the right to choose how we conduct our foreign military policy?
Before you vote on October 2, ponder these issues without using the term neutrality:
According to the Yes side, the ‘triple lock system’, protected by Lisbon, means Irish troops cannot serve abroad unless it is with the agreement of the Government and the Dáil, and that the mission has a UN mandate. Without these the EU cannot force us into any military action and we retain our right to choose.
No campaigners point out that Articles 21-55 and 326-334 and Protocol 10 of Lisbon all focus on EU militarisation. As a result, the EU is moving inexorably towards having its own army. Future integration will result in Ireland having to play a role. As such a Yes vote will not be enough to protect our right to choose in the long run.
