IN 1899, a Cork newspaper, The Skibbereen Eagle, famously stated in an editorial that it was keeping an eye on the Czar of Russia.

It is not clear if Czar Nicholas II changed Russian foreign policy as a result, but maybe the threat from West Cork made him a bit more cautious.

This week another product of Cork, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, adopted a similar approach to the current Russian leader, when he said during President Zelenskyy’s visit to the Dáil that Russia has to be held accountable.

We are not sure what he meant, but President Putin’s response was to say that if Europe wanted war, Russia was ready to fight. It looks like Russia is now keeping an eye on Ireland.

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The Dáil’s main parties rightly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but their standing ovation for Zelenskyy carried just a hint of 1914, when John Redmond argued that it was the “moral duty” of Irishmen to defend “brave little Belgium”.

Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy echoed........

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