Lunch at BrewDog, Powerscourt Waterfall, Russian naval exercises

The first “lockdown free” weekend was surprisingly quiet in Dublin, although I did not go out to any pubs on Saturday so my only first-hand experience was the street noise outside my apartment building in Temple Bar. A quick run-down of notable events from the past few days…

Lunch at BrewDog

On Saturday, after my usual SuperValu grocery delivery, I met up with my friend CJ for a walk out to the Docklands at lunch at a place called BrewPub. It’s actually a chain of breweries / restaurants that started in Scotland but now extend to many countries, including the U.S. Thankfully there were still seats available, as most tables were reserved for later in the day. It was pricey but good quality — definitely a good place for a date.

Powerscourt Waterfall

On Sunday, I had plans to meet up with my friend N. Since the weather was dry and relatively mild, we decided to go for a drive since N. has a car. I suggested Powerscourt Waterfall, which has been on my list of places to check out. It’s located in County Wicklow about a 45 minute drive to the south from Dublin and is the second highest waterfall in Ireland at 121 meters or 397 feet. It’s nothing compared to Yosemite, but the steep sides of the valley made for dramatic and picturesque scenery.

Russian naval exercises off coast of Ireland

Amid the news coverage about the situation on the border of Russia and Ukraine, Ireland is finding itself unexpectedly embroiled in the rising tensions. Russia has announced that it will be conducting naval exercises 150 miles / 240 km off Ireland’s County Cork coast in February. Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has called the exercises “unwanted” and “unwelcome.” Although the location of the planned exercises falls outside Irish territorial waters, it is still inside Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends for 200 nautical miles. Ireland has responsibility for this maritime area and patrols it with naval ships and airplanes. The following are some interesting articles I’ve found on the topic as well as about Ireland’s military (or lack thereof).

Sky News article:
Ireland fires broadside at Russia over naval drills plan off coast – but lacks military muscle to do much else

“Ireland is a neutral country and non-NATO member, with a defence spend that is among the very lowest anywhere in Europe, its ability to monitor foreign military activity offshore, let alone project a deterrent posture is extremely limited.

Just look at some of the numbers:

• The Irish Naval Service only has nine ships, and is in the middle of a staffing crisis. Crew numbers have dropped by 25% since 1998, and at times up to half the ships have been tied up due to staffing, COVID and mechanical issues. In November, it was reported that Ireland only had one ship ready to put to sea.

• The service does not possess any submarines or advanced underwater surveillance equipment.

• Ireland does not have any fighter jets. The Air Corps operates a total of eight Pilatus PC-9M aircraft. These are lightly-armed propeller-driven airplanes that are completely incapable of intercepting Russian military aircraft.

• Ireland effectively relies on Britain’s RAF to carry out those missions. In March 2020, RAF Typhoon jets were scrambled twice to monitor Russian Tupolev “Bear” bombers that had entered Irish-controlled airspace off the western coast.

• Ireland is the only country in the EU that doesn’t have a primary radar system. If planes switch off their transponders, which Russian jets routinely do, the Irish authorities simply cannot see them.”

Irish Examiner article:
Irish fishers to peacefully disrupt Russian plans for naval exercise off Cork coast

“Irish fishers are planning to peacefully disrupt plans by the Russian Navy to conduct military exercises 240km off the coast of Cork next month. […] Patrick Murphy, chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that the area was very important for fishers and that they wanted to protect biodiversity and marine life. There are currently half a billion tonnes of blue whiting in the area that move up along the coastline, he said.”

I also came across a Reddit post with the following map showing that the Russian naval exercises will take place at the nexus of several underwater communication cables… surely not a coincidence.

Until next time….