Ireland - now considered one of most vulnerable countries in the EU (defense wise)

Do you not have any love for your native land or pride in being Irish?

Russia and China don’t give a tinker’s damn about our precious neutrality or the fact that we’re not British. Likewise, Finns, Swedes and Spaniards are all the same to them - part of the West and natural troublemakers. Freedom anywhere threatens the regimes of Putin and Xi and they will ceaselessly work to discredit and erode our liberal system by every means possible. The notion that recent events in Eastern Europe have nothing to do with us is a very naive one.

If we all felt that way it would encourage the likes of Putin to do just that. You think that your life would continue as normal under Russian/Other rule?

See operation Keelhaul from the end of world war 2 as well. A real demonstration of British perfidity.

Britain and America knowingly and forcibly repatriated thousands of Russians and Eastern Europeans to certain death . That’s what countries do to protect their interests .
Some of the Russians repatriated had left Russia in 1917 and here they were being sent back by the British in 1945.
The Americans even rounded up long assimilated Russians in New Jersey and sent them back into the arms of Stalin .

Europe has many small countries that could not resist Russia on their own. However, together we are more than a match for Putin. We need to understand this and do our bit to deter the spread of authoritarianism in the world. I should not have to add that our current quality of life in Ireland is much better than it would be if Russian or Chinese influence were greater here.

Britain and America are flawed countries with terrible histories but that doesn’t mean we should equate their influence here today with that of Russia or China. If a friend is unreliable and annoying, would it be wise to start palling round with the local drug dealer instead? Chalk and cheese.

Ireland was occupied by successive waves of people over the last ten thousand years. One early group, the hunter gatherers, has almost completely disappeared from the genetic record and I doubt that was an entirely peaceful transition. Roughly speaking, the Neolithic farmers came after that and the pastoralists, including the Celts eventually. I would count the Vikings as serial invaders too. Since 1169, we have suffered multiple invasions from Britain.

So much for the past. The world is a much smaller place these days. If you look around you can see signs of Chinese influence cropping up all over the place. Russia seems to be throwing its lot in with China which it makes it a much more dangerous threat. There is zero room for complacency, denial or defeatism.

True and we were occupied for the last few hundred part still is at least to many. If Trump gets in we may find that he will say EU can look after itself dfence wise and any country not willing to pay can be given to his pal Putin.

Poland is spending 4.7% of GDP on defence! bad example. Nato is asking for just 2%.

Many countries don't spend 2% or more on defence including us. We are woefully exposed after Putins victory today Sorry trump's victory.

They have just got the USA. It wouldn't take a massive force to take Ireland by sea.

With Trump now threatening Iceland, Greenland, Panama, Mexico and even Canada the World is desabilizing fast. Surely undefended Ireland should increase defence spend now to at least deter agression what argument can be made not to now?

Join NATO, job done.