President Mary Robinson’s presence at commemorations in Paris in 1995 to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany would not conflict with Ireland’s neutrality, a senior Department of Foreign Affairs official advised. French president Francois Mitterand had invited Robinson and Fine Gael taoiseach John Bruton to so-called VE Day commemorations, along with the leaders of other states neutral in the second World War, including Sweden and Switzerland and Austria. “The issue of attendance at such commemoration ceremonies, remembrance days, etc, has always been a sensitive one,” noted the head of Foreign Affairs’ political division, Richard Townsend. “Ireland’s neutrality in World War II and sensitivities in the Anglo-Irish context have led governments in the past to decline such invitations,” he said, though feelings on the issue “have abated somewhat in recent years”. Foreign Affairs would have “no objection” to it taking part, but that this decision was only arrived after Irish diplomats in Paris made contact with “other neutral States, namely Sweden, Switzerland and Austria”.

Source: The Irish Times December 29, 2025 06:09 UTC