'Fight to defend Irish neutrality is on', Sinn Féin leader tells rally

By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

The “fight to defend Ireland’s neutrality is on”, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has told a rally in Dublin.

About 1,000 people took part in the Irish Neutrality League event on Saturday afternoon.

The rally was protesting against Government plans for new legislation that would change how Ireland decides to deploy members of the Defence Forces abroad to serve on international peacekeeping missions.

Under the current system, Ireland cannot deploy any more than 12 Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas without a peacekeeping mission being approved by a vote of the UN Security Council – as well as approval by the Government and the Dáil, known as the triple lock.

Ms McDonald told the rally: “We are here to send Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael a message – we will not sit back while you disgracefully move to dismantle the triple lock and to demolish our neutrality.

“No way. Not on your life. We will fight this tooth and nail.

“If Micheál Martin and Simon Harris are so confident that their plan to demolish our neutrality has the support of the Irish people, put it to them in a referendum, let the people have their say and FF-FG will get their answer loudly and clearly.”

She said: "The people of Ireland cherish our neutrality.

“We value it deeply as part of who we are as a people. It’s hardwired into our own history.

“Hardwired into our struggle against colonisation and oppression; our struggle for the freedom of our nation.

“Neutrality is how Ireland has built an strong, respected and honourable reputation in the world as a defender of peace, human rights, and international justice.

“In Ireland, we don’t bow to kings, we don’t bow to kaisers, and we certainly won’t bow to a dangerous militarisation agenda driven by power, greed and war.

“We are not going to stand back and allow FF-FG to run roughshod over neutrality so that Irish troops can be deployed into military conflict and misadventures that have nothing to do with Ireland and without the sanction of the United Nations.”