The spy service protecting Ireland Inc

2026-04-07

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It is not surprising that the army’s spy wing is a highly secretive organisation, but lately it’s becoming a little less so, with one of its top bosses giving an interview to The Irish Times. Its job is to protect the State and the Defence Forces from military threats, counter hybrid activity and protect Irish interests overseas. Its expertise is wide, from on-the-ground surveillance to advising the government on strategic threats to our interests.One of its tasks is to monitor the activities of ageing Russian tan...

It is not surprising that the army’s spy wing is a highly secretive organisation, but lately it’s becoming a little less so, with one of its top bosses giving an interview to The Irish Times.

Its job is to protect the State and the Defence Forces from military threats, counter hybrid activity and protect Irish interests overseas. Its expertise is wide, from on-the-ground surveillance to advising the government on strategic threats to our interests.

One of its tasks is to monitor the activities of ageing Russian tankers that appear with increased regularity off the west coast.

The service is undergoing a transformation: the name change from J2 to the Irish Military Intelligence Service (Imis) is a small part of that.

Irish Times investigations reporter Conor Gallagher was invited to the Imis HQ at McKee Barracks to meet one of the top intelligence operatives, to talk spycraft, threats, secrecy and a new phase of recruitment.