A United Nations observation post in southern Lebanon. A secret study by the Irish attorney general's office during the Troubles examined making the North a UN trusteeship policed by peacekeeping soldiersA secret study carried out by the attorney general’s office in Dublin at the height of the Troubles in the 1970s explored asking the United Nations to make Northern Ireland a trusteeship, policed by UN soldiers. However, the report cautioned that UN involvement could only take place under limited circumstances, such as a British withdrawal, a threat by loyalists to take over Northern Ireland, or where sectarian killings exploded in number. Or in the context of a British decision to withdraw from Northern Ireland,” Mr Hayes went on. The Hayes report led to the writing of a draft trusteeship agreement for Northern Ireland that could have been tabled to the UN in New York if both Dublin and London agreed on a temporary UN administration.

Source: The Irish Times December 27, 2025 15:07 UTC