DC

Let's take a gander at the Irish Secret Service! Despite being everyone's favourite, tiny, neutral nation, our brave clandestine agents have been keeping us safe for a century. Officially called the "Directorate of Military Intelligence," they're referred to as "D-INT" in documentation and "J2" by staff. It's tasked with protecting our Republic from threats foreign and domestic, whilst maintaining as low a profile as possible. A warning; this piece has more cool acronyms than an episode of Line of Duty! All information here is either sourced in the public domain or is informed speculation from the IDF community. J2 is commanded by a Director, an officer of at least the rank of Colonel. It's currently headed by Col. Joseph Mulligan of the Irish Army. Technically, J2 is a branch of the Irish Defence Forces, but during normal circumstances, it effectively answers directly to the Minister for Defence. The Director gives monthly intel briefings to the Secretary-General of the Department of Defence and on special occasions, the National Security Committee (NSC) and even foreign secret service heads. Among the many unique aspects of J2 agents in Irish law, they are licenced to carry firearms on all occasions. They are never "off duty." This includes travelling outside the state, how that's achieved we can only speculate. Although specifics about J2 personnel are understandable classified, the makeup of desk staff and agents is "very diverse in terms of gender, age , background and even nationality." They do not wear uniforms. Agents are recruited from sources as varied as third level academia, the civil service, and of course, officers or NCOs in Irish Defence Forces rank and file. Agents can also be recruited from foreign language schools and indeed pertinent actual foreign talent pools. Wouldbe agents learn their spycraft in the Intelligence school in the Curragh Military College, Defence Forces Training Centre (DFTC). Some training also takes place in the Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, Dublin. There are even modules run for friendly foreign nations military. Obviously, its operations are secretive, but we do know some aspects of J2's structure. Its muscle is the world famously awesome Army Ranger Wing (ARW). These internationally respected warriors are called in to service surprisingly frequently, albeit without media coverage. J2's brains are the less well know, but equally elite Information Services Corps (CIS). J2 also regularly collaborates with the Garda Special Detective Unit (SDU). The SDUs' focus has increasingly shifted from Republican and Loyalist paramilitaries to Islamic counter-terrorism and Russian and Chinese counter-espionage. J2 has an array of Arabic speakers, both native Irish and assets accrued from the extensive Irish UN military presence abroad. Russian and Chinese fluency is also well represented in the ranks.This mainly involves the SDU's "Middle Eastern Desk" monitoring potential jihadists, returning to and residing in Ireland, both foreigners and citizens. Allegedly, J2's base of operations is shared between a highly secure office facility in McKee Barracks and a section within Defence Forces HQ in Newbridge Kildare. This world-class Newbrige facility was built in 2010, partially funded by €30 million of public money. It's state of the art and is home to some of the most cutting edge technology in the country. Speaking of money, due to national security, J2's precise budget is classified. A small part is ringfenced to pay and protect informants, which overlap with the Garda Crime & Security Branch (CSB). It was widely misreported that J2s budget was only a few million when it was raised by 25% in 2019, but this was incorrect. But considering our non-secret DOD budget is about €2 billion per annum and about a quarter of that is itemised you begin to get an idea that the true lion's share is protecting us in ways us civies will never know. PART 2 tomorrow! – at Dublin City, Ireland