The Daily Clarity

All’s fair in politics and international trade – Libya and Ireland

At a time when Libya was providing arms to the IRA to support their attacks on Irish and British targets,  Irish officials were happily and covertly engaged in international trade with the then pariah state of Libya. Alleged deals included aircraft maintenance contracts, airline technology transfers, education of Libyan students, training of Libyan doctors and more. Files are now being released under Freedom of Information rules that detail moves to keep business deals with Colonel Gaddafi’s regime secret because of anticipated angry reactions from the Irish and British public. It all just goes to show there is no dirtier business than politics.

Senior officials argued it was better to remain friendly with Libya than to risk losing lucrative contracts for the likes of Aer Lingus, according to the files, just released into the National Archives in Dublin.

The then State-owned airliner contacted the newly-elected Fine Gael/Labour coalition in April 1973 over concerns about a contract to help train and manage Libyan Arab Airlines.

A number of Cabinet ministers were asked to sign off on talks towards a deal before Aer Lingus bosses travelled to Tripoli.

While the value of the contract was not deemed great, it was felt it held out the opportunity of further deals on aircraft maintenance and leasing.

A handwritten note to then industry and commerce minister Justin Keating underlines the Government’s awareness that Gaddafi’s regime was arming the Provos, who were then involved in a deadly campaign in Ireland and Britain.

But the memo from a ministerial adviser signals the main worry was the potential loss of commercial deals with other countries if Aer Lingus refused to work with Libya.

“Aer Lingus could suffer commercially, perhaps elsewhere in the Arab world (eg Algeria),” he states.

The adviser also suggests that aborting any deal would have no effect on the shipment of Semtex and guns to the Provos.

“If elements in the Libyan administration have, in fact, been involved in gun-running, they are not going to be influenced by the withdrawal of Aer Lingus from a proposed management assistance contract,” he wrote.

The memo was signed off by number of officials, along with a note that the decision had been conveyed to the Department of Transport and Power.

Ireland’s secret trade links with Libya revealed – Europe, World – The Independent