On that note, in March 1967 it was suggested that in the event of a nuclear war the Houses of the Oireachtas could find a new home in Westmeath, this time in Moate. From @NARIreland (tho it didn’t make the cut for #DIFPXIII, alas) 👇 https://t.co/mcrpjHxi8q pic.twitter.com/jH0UIsvDCD
— Documents on Irish Foreign Policy (@DIFP_RIA) May 5, 2022
1967.
A nation under trembling fear.
No change there then.
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if the Russians enact their 500 metre tall radioactive tsunami plan, we’ll need somewhere higher than Moate.
Maybe a moat so r where
This is the biggest laugh I have had for years since joe jacobs told us to waste at home with closed windows for the iodine tablets to come through the post
If such an event was thought of by Russia they would realise within thirty seconds of a launch every nuke the UK has would be fired at Russia
Russia within 20 minutes would resemble a crater
This is pure scaremongering
The government should be tackling the price gouging going on
hopefully Russia (and the rest of the world) have more soldiers like Stanislav Petrov who refuse to turn the key on their nuclear missiles.
that way, we don’t have to travel to Moate.
It’s amazing we are fed this poo
As for moate
It will not be the people of Ireland having shelter but only the elite to ride the storm out why we are all left to die and if we are unlucky waste away with horrific cancers
Meanwhile those involved in the hype of war sit safely in the bunkers
there’s a nice (if gruesome) idea from Roger Fisher (regarding nuclear launch codes) in regards to the responsibility of the person at the top. Let the people that make the decisions understand what those decisions mean. I see nothing of this empathy and morality in our Government right now;
“My suggestion was quite simple: Put that needed code number in a little capsule, and then implant that capsule right next to the heart of a volunteer. The volunteer would carry with him a big, heavy butcher knife as he accompanied the President. If ever the President wanted to fire nuclear weapons, the only way he could do so would be for him first, with his own hands, to kill one human being. The President says, “George, I’m sorry but tens of millions must die.” He has to look at someone and realize what death is—what an innocent death is. Blood on the White House carpet. It’s reality brought home.
When I suggested this to friends in the Pentagon they said, “My God, that’s terrible. Having to kill someone would distort the President’s judgment. He might never push the button.”“
There’s a fallout bunker under Custume Barracks in Athlone…
Here’s an article on it…
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/in-pictures-inside-irelands-secret-vip-nuclear-bunker-36285102.html
The the early 1960s Firmount House in Kildare, between Clane and Prosperous towns, was taken on by the Dept of Defence as a Nuclear Coordination centre, with rumours of bunkers for the top brass. Having been in the house in the late 80s, it was very grim so I am not surprised that another location would have been sought.
I was amused though, as before all our motorways it was over an hour from Dublin to Firmount (and forget it at school collection times). So with warning times of only several minutes for a ICBM strike, it seems like a bit of wishful thinking, a little like the iodine tablets.
If you are interested to know, you can get married there now. A few links for the interested:
https://www.kildare.ie/library/ehistory/2010/02/spooky_reminder_of_cold_war.asp
https://www.firmounthouse.com/about-us/
It is unlikely that ireland would have been targeted with a nuclear bomb, so you wouldn’t be trying to get to a shelter before the bomb hit…. just before the radioactive fallout arrived.
Hi Cian. Sorry for the delay answering, just getting in a bit more gardening. Trying to tire myself and avoid flashback nightmares tonight
No worries, I was aware of that. What had me in Firmount house that time was as part of a Civil Defense drill calculating the spread of radioactivity. In that case it was from a major meltdown of Sellafield, but the principle would be the same with wind patterns and jet streams from a strike. Took pretty much the whole day for it to arrive and we had to go into lockdown, which meant finally going home :-)
I was actually thinking of the film Dr Strangelove (I think) where someone said they could drive fast enough to get to their survival bunker 50 miles away in the mountains. And also of Wargames where the doc they found deliberately chose his ‘retreat’ to be within the blast radius of the strikes expected on the nearby city. Different thinking on the problems
In the 80’s, on the other side of Clane, just outside of Straffan, an engineering works was selling nuclear fallout shelters. These were prominently displayed on the roadside. When the Soviet Union collapsed, they tried to flog them as wine cellars!
I presume that the rationale is that if Moate ended up getting bombed, no-one would notice any difference.
they’re probably hoping the place will get hit instead of Dublin and we can go back to having just the one ‘Meath’.
Disinformation, or in other words, fake news.
The real nuclear bunker for the government is deep in a mountain in Wicklow, below Loch Nahanagan. With a hydroelectric energy supply – a lake full of water – just above their heads.
It’s time these bunkers were removed and those running this country are in the same boat as us all
It would actually ensure that everyone of them would focus their energy in ensuring peace is the goal
Back in the day, in event of a nuclear conflagration, a Swiss Government-in-exile was opting for West Cork.
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/west-cork-bids-farewell-to-the-cold-war-swiss-spy-who-set-up-a-secret-army-26726112.html
Moat(e), Motte or variations of spelling [English] mean different aspects of topography as a result of human fortified sites – which is not the same; also, a dungeon was originally on a high level of a building, not underground.
See Motte-and-bailey:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motte-and-bailey_castle
That where An Móta got its name.
Blondie, I’d hold your counsel if I were you.
This is the anonymous internet after all where many people know more than you do.
Nonetheless, choose your battles wisely – and the mote in your eye.
Just for you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubf28LPnfYs&ab_channel=BugPowderDust
It’s apparent you have friends in BS because I tried to post a link to a funny Specsavers ad which included sheep and I thought it appropriate for you.
I’ve learned and forgotten more than you’ll ever aspire to.
i ndáiríre?
Dog-gone it?
Naí malakos :)