The National Consultative Forum on International Security Policy was a public forum convened by the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...

in meetings in three cities,

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

and

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, to discuss matters of

international security ''International Security'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of international and national security. It was founded in 1976 and is edited by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and publis ...

including

cyber security Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and networks from thr ...

, the " triple lock", the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and relations with NATO.

Programme

The forum was to discuss various topics, such as

, Irish neutrality, disarmament, humanitarianism

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...

and crisis management. The forum was planned to be hosted in

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

University of Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

and

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

Speakers and moderators

Political scientist

Louise Richardson Dame Louise Mary Richardson (born 8 June 1958) is an Irish political scientist whose specialist field is the study of terrorism. In January 2023, she became president of the philanthropic foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York. In January ...

was asked to chair the consultative forum. * Renata Dwan *

Brigid Laffan Brigid Laffan is an Irish political scientist and Emeritus professor at Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute. ''Politico Europe'' ranked her among women who shape Europe in November 2018. She has been C ...

Neil Melvin Neil Melvin is a researcher and policy practitioner in contemporary forms of conflict and the current Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Armed Conflict and Conflict Management Programme. He has published on i ...

* Réiseal Ní Chéilleachair * Suzanne Lynch * Patricia Lewis * Kate Fearon * Gary Murphy * Robert McArdle * Chris Johnson * Brigadier-General Sean White * Caitríona Heinl * Brendan Flynn * Robert McCabe * Christian Bueger * Shane Ryan * Edward Burke *

Kieran Brennan Kieran Brennan (born 20 June 1957) is an Irish Army major general and former hurler who played as a centre-forward at senior level for the Kilkenny county team. He served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations with the Irish Defence Forces ...

* Ray Murphy *

Declan Power Declan Power is a former Irish Army soldier, defence analyst and writer. Power originally joined the Army Reserve (then ''FCÁ''), before serving in a variety of roles in the Defence Forces. He later had several appointments in Ireland and a ...

* Roger Mac Ginty * Brigadier-General David Dignam *

Michael Beary Michael Beary (born 1956) is a retired Irish Army major general and former head of mission and force commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Beary is the current leader of the United Nations Mission to support the Hu ...

* Fiona Nic Dhonnacha *

Roger Cole Roger Cole was the founder and chairman of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA) until 2025. He was an active member of the Labour Party (Ireland), Irish Labour Party which he joined in 1967 and stood in a local election in Dún Laoghaire. He re ...

* Michael Kennedy * Conor Gallagher * Lokesh Joshi * Rory Montgomery * Rory Finegan * Maura O'Sullivan * Kenneth McDonagh * James H. Mackey * Dag Nylander * Joachim Adler * Laurent Goetschel * Matti Pesu * Magnus Christiansson * Hanna Ojanen * Sergey Utkin * Adam Eberhardt * Sinéad O'Carroll * Viktorija Rusinaite * Art O'Leary * Michèle Griffin

Controversy

Comments by the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

on Louise Richardson's DBE in an interview with the ''

Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...

'', led to President Higgins apologising for any offence caused. The President had criticised the huge number of military personnel involved in the forum, and cautioned against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

"drifting" into

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

politicians criticised the pro-NATO, pro-military nature of the invited participants. Each of the venues were affected by protests.

References

{{authority control 2023 in the Republic of Ireland Department of Defence (Ireland) NATO relations Te

Programme

Speakers and moderators

Controversy

See also

References