Neutrality Roadshow coming to Derry warning of the danger to Irish neutrality if the government  dismantles triple lock 

Hosted by Derry's Bloody Sunday Trust, the Neutrality Roadshow will be in the city "warning of the danger to Irish neutrallity if the Irish Government dismantles the triple lock".

The Neutrality Roadshow began a one-month tour of Ireland on May 8, holding conversations on the issue with local communities.

The Roadshow will be in Derry on Thursday, June 5, in the Museum of  Free Derry. 

Tony Doherty, chair of the Bloody Sunday Trust, said: “It is very fitting that we host this event north of the border, and that we host it in our museum. Any moves  to remove Ireland’s cherished neutrality are an issue for all of us on this island, and for all our futures. 

“Ireland’s place as a neutral country has made it a trusted country around the world, one that can be  involved in peace-keeping and conflict resolution rather than unjust wars for land or resources. 

“The only fight we should be considering is the one against those who wish to remove our neutral status," said Mr Doherty.

In March, the Irish government brought legislation to cabinet to dismantle the triple lock, a mechanism that  regulates the deployment of Irish Defence Forces overseas.  

According to Mr Doherty, if the Triple Lock is dismantled, "Irish troops may be deployed, not to keep the peace, but to engage in  conflict as part of an EU Battlegroup or potentially on NATO-led missions".

He added: "We are already seeing moves in this direction. From March 25 to April10, 139 Irish troops participated in  a German-led EU Battlegroup training exercise in Hungary, in preparation for deployment to ‘conflicts and  crises’ outside the EU.

"While training exercises are permitted under the Defence Act, deployment on  overseas military missions without a UN mandate is not. Since the foundation of the state, Irish troops have only served overseas on UN mandated missions. Removing the Triple Lock will fundamentally change the  character of Ireland’s engagement with the world.  

"The Neutrality Roadshow is a grassroots people-led initiative that is not affiliated with any political party. It  will see local communities host speakers from diverse backgrounds including peace activists and anti-war  campaigners, former peacekeepers, legal scholars, academics, writers, and artists. It forms part of a broader  campaign launched earlier this year to keep Ireland neutral and save the triple lock," said Mr Doherty.

Speaking in support of the initiative, former UN peacekeeper, Edward Horgan, said: “While the world has lost a peacemaker with the death of Pope Francis, there are no shortages of potential  war-makers in Europe and internationally.

"In Ireland our political leaders continue to erode our active  neutrality by abandoning the triple lock, failing to pass the Occupied Territories Bill, providing military and  financial support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and appeasing the US Trump administration in its global  economic war.” 

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Mothers Against Genocide member, Clare O’ Connor said: “I have two children and I didn’t bring them into this world for them to be used as weapons of war, to be  conscripted into war to kill other people’s children or be killed themselves.

"If we don't save the triple lock, it  won't be us as parents sent off to war, it will be our children. We owe it to them to take a stronger stance to  protect our neutrality." 

Professor Ray Murphy of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway said: “In order to protect our military neutrality and support the UN’s role in the maintenance of international  peace and security, it is essential to maintain the Triple Lock.” 

The Neutrality Roadshow will be in the Museum of Free Derry at 7.00pm on Thursday, June 5. All welcome.