Following the news that Russia has launched "a full-scale invasion" of Ukraine on Thursday, many Irish people are worried about what implications this may have for Ireland.
Ireland's relationship with Russia exists largely in a trade capacity with Russia being one of the biggest importers of Irish Whiskey, as well as billions worth of IT services from Ireland.
In a special press conference at Government Buildings on Thursday, Taoiseach Michael Martin condemned the "outrageous" actions of Russia in Ukraine and said he is due to meet with EU leaders in Brussels this evening where they will consider a "severe" package of economic sanctions against Russia.
The Irish government is also considering introducing their own sanctions against Russia, even if it has a negative impact on the economy.
Trade between Ireland and Russia
The war on Ukraine puts billions worth of trade between Ireland and Russia at risk, with Tanaiste Leo Varadkar saying that the Irish government will “support whatever sanctions are necessary”.
Exports to Russia make up around 1% of Ireland's national income while imports from Russia are at around 0.5%.
Ireland exported more than €3 billion worth of services to Russia in 2020, mostly IT services and financial services, according to business representatives group IBEC.
In 2021, Ireland exported €627 million worth of goods to Russia, mostly pharmaceuticals, whiskey and metals.
Russia is the second largest market for Irish whiskey in the world, after the United States, with sales of over half a million cases of whiskey or 7 million bottles to Russia in 2019, according to data from the Irish Whiskey Association.
The market for Russian exports to Ireland is also worth hundreds of million euro. The main goods imported to Ireland are coal and petrol (roughly 66%), as well as fertiliser (22%) and aircraft such as planes and helicopters.
Speaking during Leaders’ Questions on Thursday, Mr Varadkar said: “I want to be very clear that the Irish government will fully support any additional sanctions against Russia.”
“Ireland will not be putting any selfish or economic interests ahead of responses required. We will support whatever sanctions are necessary, including those that would disrupt banking and financial services that are used by Russians… it applies to aviation as well.”
Sanctions against Russia would likely result in a dramatic increase in gas, oil and coal prices, several Irish politicians have said.
Diplomatic instances
Ireland has an embassy in Russia, located in Moscow, and the Russian Federation has an embassy on the Orwell Road in Rathmines.
On Thursday, February 24, red paint was thrown at the gates and the emblem of the Russian embassy in Dublin in a protest against the war in Ukraine.
In the past, there have also been fraught diplomatic incidents between Ireland and Russia, leading to Russian diplomats being expelled from the embassy in Dublin on two separate occasions in 2011 and in 2018.
A tip off from the FBI led to a garda investigation that found the identities of six Irish citizens had been stolen and used as cover for Russian spies who were working in the US resulting in the expulsion of a Russian diplomat in 2011.
And in 2018, another Russian diplomat was expelled by the Irish government in an “act of solidarity with the United Kingdom” in the wake of the Salisbury nerve agent attacks in England. Many other EU countries as well as the US and Canada also expelled Russian diplomats following the Salisbury attacks.
State visits
Russian president Vladimir Putin visited Northern Ireland in 2013 to attend the G8 summit which was held at the Lough Erne resort in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, although he did not visit the Republic during his stay.
At the time, the G8 summit consisted of eight member countries; the US, the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Japan and Russia - before Russia was removed in 2014.
It was reported that Putin was planning to take a chilly, early morning dip in Lough Erne after US President Barack Obama booked out the gym at the resort, although there were no pictures to confirm the swim actually happened.
One of the last official meetings between an Irish state leader and Vladimir Putin was when former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern paid a visit to Moscow in 1999. At the meeting, Putin called for help from Ireland to fight terrorism after recent bombings in Russia, which he drew a parallel to the Omagh bombing of 1998.
Irish president Mary McAleese also made an official state visit to then Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in the Kremlin in 2010.
However, the infamous state visit from Russian president Boris Yeltzin to in Shannon Airport in September 1994 is most remembered in Irish history. Yeltzin failed to disembark from his plane, after it had circled over Shannon for an hour, to meet then Taoiseach Albert Reynolds who was left standing on the runway at the stairs to the plane. Yeltzin never appeared and later said that he "overslept".
