This paper by Ciaran Murphy, Former Assistant Secretary for Defence and Security Policy at the Department of Defence, explores the origins of the Triple Lock, and its relationship with Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality.

This paper traces the development of Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality from Ireland’s original application to join the United Nations in 1946, through to the original drafting of the 1960 Defence Act creating what would become the Triple Lock, and finally it explores the impact of the Nice and Lisbon Treaties. The paper discusses the development of a perceived connection between Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality, Ireland’s membership of the United Nations, and the Triple Lock.

In this paper, Ciaran Murphy notes a narrative has built up around Ireland’s membership of the UN, and the statutory provisions of the Triple Lock, being an expression and reinforcement of Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality. This paper does not seek to advocate for or against the Triple Lock, or neutrality. However, the paper does argue that the original architects of Ireland’s military neutrality accepted that membership of the United Nations could impact Ireland’s neutrality and that the intended purpose of the Triple Lock’s was to enable the deployment of military personnel and not to restrict it.