Ireland’s strategic cable role grows as naval capacity falls behind
The L.E. Samuel Beckett P61 is an offshore patrol vessel with the Irish Naval Service. (Photo: US Navy)
Around 75% of the northern hemisphere’s undersea cables transit Irish waters, but personnel shortfalls and a stalled multirole vessel programme leave patrol capacity in question.
Ireland’s position at the heart of transatlantic digital and energy infrastructure is drawing scrutiny, as officials and researchers have pointed to a widening gap between the country’s strategic importance and its capacity to defend it.
Arun Dawson, a PhD candidate at the Freeman Air and Space Institute at King’s College London and a researcher with the RUSI-led Nuclear Deterrence Network, noted in April 2026 that, despite approximately 75% of the northern hemisphere’s undersea cables transiting through Irish territorial waters, Ireland had long underinvested in its own defences, instead relying on the UK’s air and maritime capabilities to patrol areas of
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