By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-08-28 03:26:00 | Updated at 2026-08-28 04:00:55
36 minutes ago
A British warship has been prevented from entering Irish territorial waters, despite being requested by Dublin.
Dublin will host a meeting about the war in Ukraine next week and asked Britain to provide extra security support.
But because of the Irish constitution, British and French warships must remain 14 miles away from shore.
Ireland has also received legal advice that foreign ships cannot fire over its territory to neutralise airborne threats including drones and ballistic missiles.
The UK will send a Royal Navy air-defence frigate to the sea near Ireland as European Union foreign and defence ministers meet in Co Wicklow.
The security arrangements, first disclosed by the Irish Times on Thursday, are a result of legal advice from the country's Attorney General, Rossa Fanning.
The Irish military is expected to work around the legal advice by stationing an Irish liaison officer on board the British warship to grant permission to fire long-range weaponry.
Under Article 15 of the Irish constitution states that only its parliament can raise military force on Irish territory.
HMS St Albans, one of two air defence frigate available to defend Ireland
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
This means British officers must stay out of territorial waters.
Ireland's workaround is intended to circumvent the rules of engagement, which dictate the use of force can only be authorised by Irish officers.
The country has previously been accused of "free-loading" by relying on the UK for defence.
Earlier this year, it announced it would spend a record £1.29billion on defence this year, an 11 per cent increase.
French frigate Aquitaine (pictured) was previously forced to keep a distance of 14 miles away from Irish shores
WIKIMEDIA / MATUBU
But the country currently only spends around 0.2 per cent of GDP on its military security, the lowest in the bloc.
This is not the first time the country has been defended by a foreign warship after beginning its six month EU presidency.
On July 1, French frigate Aquitaine was forced to keep a distance of 14 miles off Irish shores during a meeting of Europe's leaders.
In that instance, an Irish naval officer was deployed to the bridge of the warship.
As a neutral country, Ireland is not part of Nato, complicating security arrangements.
Its neutrality means the country does not have access to Nato-level radio communications, forcing French officers to borrow Irish radios.
Volodymyr Zelensky faced a security threat as he visited Ireland in December, last year.
Drones flew near the path of the Ukrainian President's plane, violating a no-fly zone.
"They had the capability and intent. They could have taken action at any moment of their choosing," a security source said at the time.
