Louth TD praises benefits of Irish neutrality at Stockholm forum

The “pride and pain” felt by people in Dundalk and Donegal following the death in Lebanon of Private Sean Rooney while on peacekeeping duty last year was recalled in Leinster House last week by Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú.

The Dundalk deputy was speaking during statements on the Consultative Forum on International Security, during which he spoke about the benefits of Ireland’s neutrality.

It was a theme Deputy Ó Murchú, Sinn Féin spokesperson on EU Affairs, also spoke about during a plenary meeting of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs (COSAC), which was held in Stockholm at the beginning of last week.

Speaking in Leinster House, Deputy Ó Murchú said: “The Irish people have not moved. 

“They are utterly committed to what we might call military neutrality or non-alignment.

"We are shown respect across the international scene as a fair player and a moral authority on the basis of our neutrality and non-alignment. It is also on the basis of our history of being the colonised rather than the coloniser.

“It is also fair to say that during the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia, when others started talking about weapons and all the rest of it, the Tanáiste said there was no requirement for Ireland to be a military superpower. 

“I would like to think that is a situation that will continue. Not only do people respect our position and the work we have done as regards peacekeeping, we have a strong message as a result of the Irish peace process and all that has brought us and all that it can bring us into the future. 

“That is respected throughout the world and is almost a template for best practice to move us to a better place than we are in now.

“On peacekeeping, the people in my own home town of Dundalk and of County Donegal felt both pride and pain at the loss of Private Sean Rooney. 

“We have earned that respect for peacekeeping. We have paid an enormous toll. I would not like us to move to a place where some of the commentary has been coming from in the past while. 

“I have heard some reassuring commentary today to the effect there will not be movement towards NATO but I cannot say that every position that has been taken and that every comment we have heard from some Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael commentators is as positive as that.

"It would be fair to say the Irish people could not stand over a huge number of the positions that have been taken by NATO and NATO powers, particularly the US, over many years.”

In Stockholm, Deputy Ó Murchú said the EU should stand “for decency and justice” and stand against “malign actors.”