We should not ignore the reality that, for the first time since independence, a superpower has formally affirmed its right to hegemony over Ireland. For a long time, kids in Irish schools were taught that they should take considerable pride in being “born in the same hemisphere as the United States”. The northwest of Ireland is formed by the North American Plate. The National Security Strategy envisages Europe as being in imminent danger of “civilisational erasure” and the catastrophic decline of Irish Catholicism is Exhibit A in this apocalyptic narrative. The most uncomfortable aspect of these blatant infringements on Irish sovereignty is that, while they are absurd, they are also rooted in economic reality.

Source: The Irish Times January 13, 2026 15:01 UTC