Just a clarification folks. Ireland is not "officially neutral". It is a common misconception. Our "neutrality" is not constitutional, like for example Switzerland. Our foreign policy is more akin to "selective alignment" , which in the most case is non-alignment.
For example during WWII, or the "Emergency" as it was known here, crashed Allied aircraft when flyable and indeed airmen, were hurriedly returned across the border. This was not the case with axis aircraft and their crew were interned at the Curragh army base for the duration of the war. Weather reports from Ireland were central to the D-Day landings and US and RAF aircraft based in Northern Ireland
were given overflight privileges on their way out of Northern Ireland on U-Boat patrols over the North Atlantic.
In the course of the war an estimated 70,000 citizens of "neutral Ireland" served as volunteers in the British Armed Forces. When Belfast was bombed, Fire tenders from south of the border were sent to assist.USAAF aircraft en-route to North Africa refueled at Shannon Airport, flying boats at nearby Foynes. A total of 1,400 aircraft and 15,000 passengers passed through Foynes airport during the war years.When the Irish aircraft sighted any German ships, planes or submarines, they reported back to base by radio knowing that the messages were being picked up by the British authorities.
More recently, a very significant of number US troop flights en-route to both Iraq and Afghanistan and indeed on the way back, have refueled and continue to do so at Shannon airport. You cannot pass through Shannon airport these days without encountering US troops on a refueling stop. There is no neutral nation on earth that would allow this.
Current foreign military deployments are subject to what is known as the "triple lock system".
1. The mission must be approved by a UN Security Council Resolution.
2. The mission must be approved by the Irish Government.
3. The mission must be approved by Dail Eireann(The Irish Parliament).
The first Irish overseas deployment was the UN mission to Congo in 1960- A mission that led to the deaths of 26 Irish soldiers. Notable battles include the Siege of Jadotville, where a company sized element of Irish troops held off a much larger force of Katangese. With resupply forces ( Swedish, Irish and Gurhkas) failing to break through, the contingent withstood attack from ground and air, and inflicting hundreds of casulties themselves,they finally ran out of ammunition they were forced to surrender. The famous line radioed back to HQ was poignant and typically Irish :"We will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could do with some whiskey"
Other engagements involving the Irish Army since then include the Battle of At Tiri in 1980, involving both Irish and other UN elements in a firefight with the Israeli supported South Lebannon Army(SLA), where an AML 90 was used to put an SLA halftrack/HMG out of action.
In 2004 Irish Army Rangers in Gbapa, Nimba county, Liberia rescued villagers from Government of Liberia forces following aerial insertion involving Ukranian helicopters.
The Irish contingent in Kosovo is under Nato command.
The imminent deployment to Chad is the first EU led mission that Ireland has contributed to and after France, Ireland has the largest number of troops on the mission.
So folks, "oficially neutral" no, "selectively alligned"-yes.
Paragraph 3: Wikipedia
