Niall O'Connor Reporting from Munich.

THERE ARE PLENTY of surreal moments in the streets and halls around the Munich Security Conference.

The main venue, the Bayerischer Hof hotel, is surrounded by hundreds of German and police from across Europe, with snipers on the rooftop and heavily armed plain clothes officers.

In the square immediately outside the front entrance is a large tribute to Michael Jackson, as world leaders and Generals pass by.

The makeshift monument to ‘The King of Pop’, once a regular visitor to the hotel, is a remarkable contrast to the conversations taking place inside with officials discussing nuclear weapons for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine and a growing distrust of America.

One delegate from an international security agency The Journal spoke to said the scene inside the five star, 337 room hotel, is an extraordinary melting pot of world leaders. The source said that every room in the building has been emptied of beds and replaced with tables for so-called bilateral diplomatic meetings.

Some Irish officials spoke of the famous faces inside; at one point, former Irish President Mary Robinson was seen in a hallway among the significant players.

Police outside the door of the conference. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Our Gallant Allies in Europe

In a surreal moment The Journal also spoke to German military personnel who spoke warmly of their knowledge of Irish history, especially of the 1916 proclamation and the mention of “Our Gallant Allies in Europe”.

One senior soldier, while serving in Mali, had come across Irish soldiers. There was a training mission of Irish Defence Forces in the African country and a detachment of Army Ranger Wing operators embedded with the German military on that mission. He would not be drawn on what unit he met. 

All personnel we chatted to spoke of the way Ireland, despite its size, is known through its peacekeeping missions and other military operations. 

Inside a large room a theatre had been constructed for the public talks and speeches but while much is foisted on the well covered events in that room, the real purpose of Munich, like Davos, is clearly an opportunity for the world’s leaders to gather and meet in a heavily guarded central location. 

Outside the hotel in the smoking area, there were dress uniforms of senior officers mixing with more combat oriented kit of soldiers from Ukraine.  

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his way to a meeting with Japanese Government officials in Munich. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Irish visit

There is a social aspect to many of the meetings. Images circulated of tired and drawn Volodymyr Zelenskyy having dinner with many of Europe’s leaders after the meetings. Minister Helen McEntee attended a specially convened dinner with European Defence Ministers also. 

European Affairs Minister Thomas Byrne also had a large number of meetings. 

It included with Ukrainian officials, security discussions with EU and international partners, meetings with UNRWA, the United Nations and EU candidate States.   

There were Department of Defence and Foreign Affairs diplomats in the city for bilaterals. The Irish Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy was spotted also and The Journal learned that among the delegation was the head of the Irish Military Intelligence Service (IMIS).

One Irish source mentioned that in years gone by there was an exasperation among many officials pushing to attend Munich because when they asked to go they were told no because it was “too military”. That has changed now and Ireland is very much participating. 

The meetings are not just taking place in the Bayerischer Hof – across the city at night there are drink receptions and dinners. In closed restaurants, through the windows, officials can be seen with notebooks out enjoying meals with counter parts. 

The famous beer halls of Munich are well attended also – the conference lanyards hanging around the necks of drinkers the give away and the litre glasses of beer in hand helping to lubricate the diplomacy.

The event was not without its tension though – the arrival of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio left many in the press centre to watch the live stream of his speech like an old scene of a nervous father waiting outside a delivery room.

Understandable that Rubio arrived looking nervous and slightly sheepish especially with the recent Greenland fiasco and last year’s diatribe against Europe by JD Vance. In the 2025 edition the Vice President hit out at Europe on immigration and free speech, and called Donald Trump the “new sheriff in town”.

The US diplomat had the hangdog appearance of the member of a friend’s group not happy with his pals’ selection of a pub on a night out. 

Things calmed as he cut a conciliatory tone in his speech, officials from multiple European countries we spoke to said they were relieved. However dig deeper into the text of Rubio’s speech and it is clear that the language may have changed but the message stayed the same.

In contrast, the Chinese delegation led by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi played a different game to the Americans stating: “more than happy to move into the seat that is being vacated by the United States.”

German and French police on patrol on the streets of Munich. Niall O'Connor / The Journal Niall O'Connor / The Journal / The Journal

Security operation

Ireland will host the six month EU Presidency from July and it is understood that some of the discussions in Munich were centred around that.

What we saw on the streets of Munich was a hugely successful operation to secure the event. There are lessons for Ireland in the site of armed foreign police officers on the beat with German colleagues. 

We saw Dutch and Swiss police officers on foot patrol and we chatted to German Polizei with French Gendarme – they are part of a unit in which their police forces operate together. 

There were multiple protests, one of which against the Iranian regime had 200,000 people marching. The police also managed the movements of high risk dignitaries such as the Ukrainian President – but all went without a hitch.  

During the recent Volodymyr Zelenskyy visit to Ireland The Journal revealed that French, Portuguese and PSNI officers assisted gardaí in counter drone activities. In the Irish context it was unusual but on the streets of Munich is nothing unusual. 

As one German police officer joked: “Make sure we get an invite to Dublin”. 

Regardless, after last year’s JD Vance tirade against Europe, the event finished as a success.

The likely next big event for all the European leaders will be Ireland’s hosting of the EU Presidency launch – perhaps those Gallant Allies in Europe will get their wish to work on the Streets of Dublin.