Fionnán Sheahan, the forthright editor of the Irish Independent, wrote an article a few weeks ago called ‘Let’s just leave the EU if we’re no longer going to take our membership seriously’.
Published: 29 January 2026
He pointed out Irish irresponsibility and double standards in demanding exemptions while resisting obligations.
“Right now, Ireland is against a trade deal despite having one of the most open economies in the world; believes the EU is trying to flood us with cheap sub-standard and unsafe food; demands exemptions from environmental standards; has been at odds with the EU stance on Israel over the war in Gaza; and is ignoring the swing towards the union prioritising defence to protect against attacks from Russia, which elements of our political system just think is down to hype from the ‘military industrial complex’.”
Indeed it has just enthusiastically elected as president far-left, socialist, pacifist Catherine Connolly who has described Europe’s military build up as driven by a “war-mongering military industrial complex” that threatens Ireland’s peace and neutrality and facilitates the interests of warmongers over welfare.
These days, disenchantment has caused many Irish people to blame the EU rather than the Brits for whatever goes wrong and the EU is fed up with it.
The British have always been nervous about the military dangers from the French, the Germans and various other historic enemies sneaking through the Irish backdoor.
These days, the West fears Russia wrecking international communications by destroying undersea cables that Ireland has done almost nothing to protect.
“It is becoming increasingly embarrassing to be Irish,” wrote George Parsons, a brave Dubliner, to the Irish Times this week.
“We take all we can from the world without any notion of contributing (excepting our wonderful UN peacekeepers).”
The case he made for the prosecution was brief but devastating.
“We get derogations from the EU when anything looks too difficult for our local parish pump political system to handle; we fail to support the EU in delivering trade deals; we suck the world dry of corporation tax; we expect others to defend us.”
He had a plea.
“Surely it’s time for us to grow up and give something back to the world? At the very least, drop neutrality, join Nato and at least give the impression that we care about the security of Europe.”
Letters in response were strong on defensive self-congratulatory guff about aid, neutrality and peace.
However John McGuirk, founder and editor of the excellent online Gript, which pays close attention to developments often invisible to the mainstream media, has taken comfort from a new reality.
Possibly accentuated by America no longer behaving like an indulgent sugar daddy, polls have shown more Irish people favour joining Nato than retaining the triple lock on deploying soldiers abroad, by removing the need for a UN mandate for peacekeeping missions as well as Dáil and government approval.
In other words, neither Russia nor China can veto it.
The end of neutrality is nigh, and, McGuirk believes, the country is on its way to participating in an EU common defence arrangement that is “a military alliance in all but name”.
Mind you, if Sinn Féin get into government, all bets may be off.
