Episodes
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This episode forms part of STANDEASY's continuing Threats Series, examining the evolving security challenges facing Ireland, Europe, and the wider international environment.
In this episode, I am joined by Ryan Ramsey, former Royal Navy Commander, Captain of the nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS Turbulent, and former head of the Royal Navy's renowned Submarine Command Course, "Perisher".
The discussion explores the growing strategic importance of the undersea domain and the re-emergence of submarine activity as a major security concern in the North Atlantic.
We begin by examining the current sub-surface threat environment, how Russian submarine capabilities have evolved in recent years, and why the North Atlantic remains a critical theatre for European and transatlantic security.
The conversation then turns to the importance of undersea infrastructure, including subsea communications cables, offshore energy systems, and the role they play in supporting modern economies and national resilience. We examine the specialist capabilities operated by Russia's Main Directorate for Deep-Sea Research (GUGI) and discuss the extent to which concerns surrounding seabed infrastructure are justified.
Ryan also explains why modern anti-submarine warfare is far more than individual ships or aircraft hunting submarines. Instead, it is a highly integrated system involving sensors, intelligence, platforms, data fusion, and multinational cooperation working together to create awareness of the undersea environment.
The discussion then focuses on Ireland's emerging undersea surveillance capability through the acquisition of the CAPTAS-1 towed array sonar system. We explore what practical capability this provides, how it compares to more advanced NATO systems, and what additional steps Ireland would need to take if it wishes to build a more credible anti-submarine warfare capability.
Finally, the episode addresses an increasingly important strategic question for Ireland and other European states: as dependence on undersea infrastructure grows and the North Atlantic becomes more contested, at what point does the decision not to invest in organic anti-submarine warfare capability become a strategic vulnerability?
STANDEASY is Ireland's podcast exploring defence, security, and the State's place in the world.
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This episode forms part of STANDEASY's continuing Threats Series, examining the evolving challenges facing Ireland, Europe, and the wider international security environment.
In this episode, I am joined by Philip Ingram MBE, a former senior British Military Intelligence officer and NATO planner, to explore the role intelligence plays in modern national security and why it remains one of the most misunderstood functions of government.
The discussion begins by examining why intelligence services exist, how intelligence supports national decision making, and the process by which information is collected, analysed, and transformed into actionable insight. We explore the crucial relationship between intelligence collection and analysis, and why understanding information is often more important than simply gathering it.
The conversation then turns to the contemporary threat environment facing Europe, including state competition, cyber threats, foreign interference, espionage, and the increasingly complex challenges confronting intelligence agencies.
We also examine the evolving roles of Russia and China in strategic competition, how intelligence professionals assess these challenges, and the methods states use to project influence and gather advantage in the modern security environment.
Closer to home, the discussion considers Ireland's unique security landscape, including the challenges created by neutrality, geography, economic openness, and critical infrastructure. We explore how Ireland's intelligence and security capabilities compare with those of its European partners and the implications of an increasingly interconnected threat environment.
Finally, we examine how technology, data, and artificial intelligence are likely to reshape intelligence work over the coming decade, and what governments should be doing now to prepare for the future.
As threats become more complex and less visible, the conversation asks an important question: at what point does under-investing in intelligence and security stop being a policy choice and become a vulnerability that others actively exploit?
STANDEASY is Ireland's podcast exploring defence, security, and the State's place in the world.
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Missing episodes?
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This episode forms part of STANDEASY's continuing Threats Series, examining the evolving challenges facing Ireland, Europe, and the wider international security environment.
In this episode, I’m joined by Professor Andrew Mumford, Professor of War Studies at the University of Nottingham, to examine one of the most frequently discussed and often misunderstood concepts in contemporary security: hybrid warfare.
While many people associate conflict with conventional military force, today's security environment increasingly involves activities that operate below the threshold of war. Cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns, espionage, economic coercion, political interference, and attacks on critical infrastructure have become key features of the modern strategic landscape.
The discussion explores what hybrid warfare actually means, whether it represents a genuinely new form of conflict, and how hostile states seek to exploit vulnerabilities within democratic societies.
We examine why Europe was slow to recognise the scale of the challenge, why Ireland's geographic position, maritime domain, and strategic infrastructure make it relevant to wider European security debates, and the growing concerns surrounding foreign influence, espionage, and threats to critical national infrastructure.
The episode also considers what hybrid warfare means for Irish neutrality, national resilience, and the difficult policy choices governments face when responding to activities that exist in the grey zone between peace and conflict.
As geographical distance becomes less relevant and adversaries increasingly target societies rather than armies, the conversation asks whether traditional assumptions about security remain fit for purpose in an interconnected and contested world.
STANDEASY is Ireland's podcast exploring defence, security, and the State's place in the world.
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In this episode of STANDEASY, I’m joined by Dr Robert McCabe, who leads the MARSEC research project at the National Maritime College of Ireland and Munster Technological University, to examine the growing importance of maritime security and the protection of critical undersea infrastructure.
While largely invisible to the public, subsea infrastructure underpins many aspects of modern life. From internet traffic and financial transactions to energy connectivity and international communications, these networks form part of the essential systems upon which states, economies, and societies increasingly depend.
The discussion explores why critical infrastructure at sea matters, the challenges associated with protecting privately owned systems that carry significant national consequences, and the evolving threat environment facing maritime and subsea infrastructure. We examine questions of vulnerability, resilience, responsibility, and preparedness in an era characterised by geopolitical competition, hybrid threats, and growing concern over the security of critical infrastructure.
The episode also considers Ireland’s strategic position on the Atlantic edge of Europe, the role of the National Maritime Security Strategy, the importance of cooperation with European partners, and how initiatives such as the MARSEC project are contributing to the development of maritime security research, policy, and capability.
As Ireland and Europe become increasingly dependent on interconnected digital and maritime networks, the discussion asks what steps are required to safeguard these invisible lifelines and whether states are moving quickly enough to meet the challenges emerging beneath the surface.
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Quick bonus episode with Dr Ed Burke from UCD discussing the requirement for a fit for purpose Irish Security Vetting System in the wake of the reports in the media today (30 May) that an Irish Citizen has been arrested for allegedly leaking confidential government information to a foreign Intelligence Service.
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In this first episode of our threat series , Tony Geraghty is joined by Brigadier General (Retd) Brian Cleary and Commandant (Retd) Ken Sheehan to examine the growing challenges of cyber security and cyber warfare in Ireland.
The discussion explores where cyber security ends and cyber warfare begins, whether Ireland currently has the capacity to defend itself effectively in cyberspace, and the risks created by relying heavily on privately owned infrastructure and global technology networks.
The episode also examines Ireland’s vulnerability as a hub for subsea cables, data centres, and international communications, along with the real-world impact cyber attacks could have on public services, infrastructure, and national resilience.
A timely discussion on one of the most important and rapidly evolving areas of modern national security.
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In the final episode of this three-part series on neutrality in Ireland, I’m joined by Professor Andrew Cottey (UCC) and Dr Ed Burke (UCD) to examine what Irish neutrality means in the 21st century.
Moving from the historical foundations explored in previous episodes, this discussion focuses on the contemporary strategic, political, and legal debates surrounding Irish neutrality and military non-alignment.
We examine whether Ireland is legally neutral, how neutrality is understood across Irish political and public discourse, and the distinction between traditional neutrality, military non-alignment, peacekeeping, and the Triple Lock mechanism.
The episode also explores Ireland’s relationship with the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy, including PESCO and Article 42.7, and asks whether deeper European defence cooperation challenges traditional understandings of Irish neutrality.
A major focus of the discussion concerns Ireland’s growing security vulnerabilities, including maritime surveillance gaps, the protection of critical underwater infrastructure, airspace security, increased geopolitical tensions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and questions surrounding Ireland’s reliance on partners for elements of national defence.
Professor Cottey and Dr Burke also examine how Irish neutrality has become deeply connected to national identity and political culture, while asking whether Ireland’s current position remains strategically coherent in an increasingly unstable international environment.
The episode concludes by exploring three possible futures for Irish neutrality:
• maintaining the current policy,
• reforming aspects of neutrality and defence policy,
• or moving towards a formal alliance structure in the future.Rather than advocating a single position, the discussion seeks to unpack the competing interpretations, assumptions, and strategic realities shaping the debate on Irish neutrality today.
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In the second episode of this three-part series on neutrality in Ireland, Dr Veronica Barry returns to examine the emergence and development of Irish neutrality in the years surrounding the Second World War.
Picking up from the aftermath of the First World War, we explore the foreign policy concerns of the early Irish Free State, the limitations imposed by dominion status, and the wider European context in which neutrality increasingly came to be viewed as a means of protecting small-state sovereignty.
A major focus of the episode is the role of Éamon de Valera in shaping Irish foreign policy during the 1930s, including the drafting of the 1937 Constitution, the removal of the British monarch from Irish constitutional affairs, and the decision not to formally enshrine neutrality within the Constitution itself.
The discussion then turns to the outbreak of the Second World War and Ireland’s declaration of neutrality in September 1939. Dr Barry examines the practical realities of Irish neutrality during the conflict, including the weakness of the Defence Forces, fears surrounding partition and internal instability, censorship, covert cooperation with Britain and the United States, and the challenge of maintaining sovereignty during a period of total war.
We also discuss how Ireland’s wartime experience differed from that of other neutral states, many of which suffered invasion and occupation, as well as the international criticism Ireland faced in the aftermath of the war.
The episode concludes by examining how the Second World War fundamentally altered the concept of neutrality itself and shaped Ireland’s understanding of neutrality for decades to come.
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"The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must"
In this first episode of a three-part series, I’m joined by Dr Veronica Barry (UCD) to explore the history and evolution of neutrality in international relations, tracing its development from antiquity through to the First World War.
We begin by unpacking what neutrality means in both legal and historical terms, including its formal codification in international law through the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907.
The discussion then moves into the Middle Ages, when neutrality was often understood through the lens of Christian “just war” theory and could even be viewed as morally problematic if one side was considered righteous.
We then explore what is sometimes described as the “golden age of neutrality,” during which both permanent and occasional neutral states played important roles in the international system. Dr Barry outlines how the Hague Conventions sought to standardise the rights and responsibilities of neutrals.
The episode concludes with the First World War, a major turning point in the history of neutrality, where Dr Barry discusses how the pressures of total war led to widespread violations of neutral rights as military necessity increasingly overrode respect for sovereignty.
This sets up the transition to Episode 2, where we will continue the discussion into the post-1914 period and move towards the emergence of Irish neutrality in the context of independence and the early Irish Free State.
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In this episode I sit down with Dr David Blagden to explore the fundamental role of the State in providing security. Together, we examine whether security is the primary duty of the State or one responsibility among many, and what gives governments the authority to raise armed forces and use force in a modern democracy.
The discussion looks at how these powers are structured in Ireland, how they compare internationally, and what makes the use of force legitimate. The episode also explores the increasingly blurred lines between defence, security, and public safety — and what that means in practice.
A clear and accessible conversation on one of the most important questions in national and international security: what is the State ultimately responsible for, and where should the limits lie?
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In this episode, I sit down with Dr Ken McDonagh to examine the state of national security in Ireland.
Despite work beginning in 2019, Ireland still has no published National Security Strategy. What does that delay say about how seriously the State treats security in a rapidly changing world?
We explore how national security is understood across government and the public, and whether it remains too narrowly focused on policing and crime. Professor McDonagh outlines what the missing strategy was meant to deliver, why it matters, and how Ireland compares to similar countries.
We also discuss who is actually responsible for national security, how decisions are made at the highest level, and whether the current system is coherent.
Finally, we assess where Ireland stands today—highlighting key gaps in capability, coordination, and political focus—and what needs to change in the years ahead.
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