The Silent Shield: US Submarine Presence and the Defence of Irish Waters

For decades, Ireland’s strategic geography has quietly underpinned Western security calculations. Perched on the edge of the Atlantic, Irish waters form a critical frontier for transatlantic undersea infrastructure, submarine transit routes, and early-warning systems, especially in an era of resurging Russian maritime activity.

But while Ireland maintains a policy of military neutrality, it has increasingly relied on informal security guarantees from Western allies. Chief among these is the United States, whose submarine fleet plays an often-unacknowledged role in deterring adversarial operations near Irish waters. This policy article examines the hidden architecture of that protection, the geopolitical price tag it carries, and how it factors into broader US-EU defence and trade leverage.

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The Silent Shield US Submarine Presence and the Defence of Irish Waters.pdf

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