Irish mariner is at the heart of much of today’s subsea cable network but we no longer have the capability to monitor and defend it
A transatlantic fibre optic cable: majority of north transatlantic data cables pass through the waters of the Irish exclusive economic zone. Photograph: Getty Images
Robert Halpin, James and Anne’s youngest, left home in March 1847 at the height of the Great Famine and, at just 11, joined the crew of a Canadian lumber cargo ship. His father died the following October. By 22, Robert was a captain on shipping routes from Liverpool to India and South America. In June 1865, he was appointed first officer of the Great Eastern.
Today, the majority of north transatlantic data cables from Europe to the US pass through the waters of the Irish exclusive economic zone, which extends up to 370km from our coastline. The growth in data centres in Ireland has been catalysed by some of these cables. As well as cables for public internet and telephony, there are numerous privately operated cables, including those used by Google/Alphabet, Facebook/Meta and Microsoft.
This month a further four cables off the west coast of Africa were broken, with Ivory Coast, Benin and Liberia severely impacted. The cause is not yet clear. With our diminished Naval Service and no sonar capability, what possibilities lie ahead to defend undersea cables in the Irish exclusive economic zone?
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