In 1798, the French Republic landed 1,000 troops in Mayo to assist the United Irishmen rebels.
After some initial success, the French troops ultimately failed in their goal and the rebellion was eventually crushed. Nevertheless, the expedition went down in Irish revolutionary history as the Year of the French.
Now, 228 years later, Ireland is about to witness another year of the French, as the Government deepens military co-operation with Paris in the face of increasing global threats.
This time, the French are not sending soldiers to Killala. Instead, as part of a series of government-to-government deals, they will send hundreds of millions of euro worth of advanced military equipment to modernise the beleaguered Irish Defence Forces.
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The latest of these deals was announced on Tuesday when the Government confirmed it will purchase large numbers of armoured vehicles from the French arms companies Thales and KNDS.
The deal, which could be worth up to €600 million, will revolutionise the capabilities of the Irish Army.
Vehicles to be acquired include the Griffon, a giant six-wheel armoured personnel carrier which can also launch 120mm mortars, and the Jaguar, a 25-tonne tank-like “armoured fighting vehicle” equipped with a large turreted gun.
The Defence Forces Artillery Corps will acquire the Caesar, a self-propelled 155m howitzer. The gun has a 55km range, meaning the Defence Forces may have to fire shells out to sea during target practice.
These vehicles will dramatically increase the capability of the military to carry out its primary mission, the defence of the State. Many will no doubt question the wisdom of an island nation spending so much money on armoured vehicles, when its naval and air capabilities are so lacking.
However, this ignores the fact that it is the job of the Defence Forces to prepare for unlikely prospects. The new purchases will support the long-standing doctrine of the Defence Forces to resist an invasion for as long as possible until support arrives from allies.
The vehicles will also be equipped with “level-four armour”, capable of stopping high-calibre rounds and large explosions. This will allow soldiers to take part in peacekeeping missions in unstable areas where soft-skinned vehicles are not up to the job.
Other recently announced French purchases include a military radar system, likely to cost more than €500 million, a sonar system worth €60 million and three maritime patrol and transport aircraft from Airbus, totalling €300 million.
All told, French military purchases could exceed €2 billion over the course of the various contracts.
Purchasing equipment from France makes sense. It is a stable democracy which is close to Ireland both geographically and politically.
The US arms industry is bigger, and in some sectors more advanced. But the unpredictability of Donald Trump’s foreign policies makes European military planners very nervous.
The co-operation with France goes further than military purchases. On Wednesday, Minister for Defence Helen McEntee will announce a new National Maritime Security Strategy, of which a key pillar will be increasing naval co-operation with France.
This is likely to extend to asking France to station an air defence frigate off the Irish coast to provide security during Ireland’s EU presidency and assigning Irish liaisons to French security agencies.
The strategy outlines the “close relationship” between the two countries and their co-operation on maritime security.
All of this reflects a view within Irish security circles that, with the possible exception of the UK, France is Ireland’s closest military ally, to the extent that Ireland has military allies.
