NORTHERN IRELAND could have descended into all-out war similar to Syria had the Irish army invaded in the 1980s, a unionist peer has said.
Former Ulster Unionist MP Ken Maginnis was responding to declassified documents which revealed a plan drafted by Irish Defence Forces in 1986 in the event of a British withdrawal if the Anglo-Irish Agreement collapsed.
An air and sea assault on Belfast was among options being considered.
A missive marked “secret” and signed by Irish military top brass discussed an invasion should Britain withdraw from the north in order to prevent an “onslaught” by loyalists on unprotected nationalist communities.
The document states that 10,000 troops would be needed to tackle loyalists establishing an independent Northern Ireland if Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ordered British soldiers to leave.
Lord Maginnis told The Irish News that had this occurred, a major conflict would have been inevitable.
“It’s hard to believe that Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald would have nodded his head in agreement to this, so it sounds like some lecture room exercise,” he said.
“However, there would have been war if an Irish soldier had popped his head across the border at Aughnacloy.
"Bluntly, there would have been such an uprising. If you look at what’s happening in Syria today – that is the sort of thing we tried to avoid but this action would have sparked that.”
The documents also revealed a plan to forgo a full invasion in favour of securing limited territory to help northern refugees flee south.
Lord Maginnis added: “It seems laughable now, but it’s disturbing to think that there was some general tucked away in an office planning this with other head bangers.”
