A win for the underdog – Irish fishermen win standoff with Russia

Fishermen from Cork have been receiving international attention for their response to Russian warships planning to practise military activity 150 miles off the Irish coast. 

On Friday 21st January 2022, Russia's Ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, met with the Irish Chief of Defence Staff, Seán Clancy, to discuss practising naval firing exercises off the coast of Ireland between the 3rd and 8th of February 2022. The chosen location was the Porcupine Bank in Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone, where commercial fishing takes place. These plans were swiftly appealed by the Irish government and the fishermen who work in that zone. The Irish Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney told Russia its presence was 'not welcome and not wanted.' 

The dispute’s conjunction with rising tensions between Russia and the Ukraine was a legitimate cause for concern. Why then and, above all, why there? Despite 2022 marking the 48th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ireland and Russia, their ties do not hold any real depth. Due to its minimal political influence and great geographical distance, Ireland has little to offer Russia. This makes it all the more strange that Russia has decided to practise war games so close to Cork.  

Ireland possesses a very small defence navy, intended for fish protection, anti-smuggling, and United Nations peace-keeping missions – not for confrontations with external navies. Ireland's five operational ships pale in comparison to Russia's fleet of 603 ships and submarines, making it the second largest navy in the world. Ireland is also militarily neutral and, like Russian, not a member of NATO's military alliance. The incongruity of dispatching Russian ships off the Irish coast therefore appeared threatening and intimidating. 

The Corkonian fishermen were enraged over the damage that the Russian military activity would do to marine life and fish stocks, which have already been hit hard by the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union. Ireland, along with Germany, has been expected to lose 15% of its fishing quota, one of the worst affected, due to Brexit. This is followed by the Netherlands at 10% and France at 8%. Abstaining from fishing due to Russian warships and their destruction of the local environment would not only have an impact on a national level but also on an individual basis, affecting the families and livelihoods of the fishermen. The alternative of going out to fish regardless of the foreign military presence would put their lives at risk, as they would be working on missile landing sites. 

Filatov met with the Irish government and the man at the helm of the Irish South and West Fish Producer's Organisation, Patrick Murphy, who, in jovial Irish spirit 'gave them [the Russians] some prawns'. The talks discussed moving the warships away from the coast of Cork, but the Russian Ambassador to Ireland was unwilling to compromise. In response, the Irish fishermen decided to embark on a peaceful protest and announced they would go out and fish despite the presence of the Russian warships. Their plan was to have a continuous presence on the water, whereby, when one fishing boat was ready to return to port, another one would prepare to go out.  

This was met with warnings from both the Irish government and the Russian embassy. The latter told the Fisherman’s Organisation that whilst it understood their frustration, any interference would be reckless and irresponsible to both sides. 

On the 29th January, after 48 hours of intense diplomatic discussions, Moscow announced that it would move its warships away from the Irish coast and outside of the Exclusive Economic Zone following the appeals of the Irish government and fishermen. 

 The Irish fishermen are to be commended for their actions. Patrick Murphy told CNN, "Doesn't it show that a simple little conversation can change things? It's huge. The power of words is a lot better than the power of the gun. I'm chuffed." Their victory highlights the power and effectiveness of diplomacy over force, something all countries could take a lesson from in the current political climate. This story of the Irish David against the Russian Goliath also shows the influence of the everyman and the value of using your voice to defend your values despite the odds. 

However, was there something even greater at large that the fishermen should be commended for? They may not only have saved their livelihoods but also Western Europe. This was not the first time that Russia has practised military activity in Irish waters. In August 2021, a Russian ship, the Yantar, suspected of being a spy ship with the capacity to launch submarines, was monitored off the coast of Donegal. An article in the TIMES speculated that the incident could have been connected with secretly cutting undersea Norwegian cables.  

In the more recent case, the coast of Cork played a key geo-political role as it acted as a gateway to the United States of America. The Porcupine Bank in particular sits above a nexus of internet cables running between the two continents. Its location also remains just outside the adjoining French economic zone. With no real reason for the Russians to be there, it is easy to see how this could be interpreted as a message to NATO or, at least, as an act of intimidation towards Russia's Western associates. The Irish fishermen driving the warships away could therefore have a bigger impact than imagined. 

Regardless of speculation, these Corkonian rebels have gained a win for underdogs everywhere. They are worthy of being called vanguards of human rights, protecting their entitlement to work safely and the natural world. It goes without saying that their mix of courage, class and steadfast resilience is a proud display of the Irish spirit. 

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.

 Image courtesy of Eric Weaver via Flickr, ©2005, some rights reserved.