1
GAA Discussion / Name your quarterfinalists
« on: May 27, 2023, 01:41:27 PM »
Who will survive ?
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2
GAA Discussion / The impact of Dublin's financial doping on the championship and Division 1
« on: May 18, 2023, 08:00:39 PM »
There is a problem with quarter finals and there has been for a while.
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2023/05/17/sean-moran-there-are-simply-too-many-teams-in-the-all-ireland-round-robin/
"It’s hard to imagine what an innovation the quarter-finals were when introduced in 2001. Straight knockout matches between a variety of counties in pairings that were often unusual. As it happened in the first year three of the matches were reruns of provincial championship fixtures but this was alleviated by the first Kerry-Dublin encounter in the All-Ireland series for 16 years.
It even went to a replay. During the next six years there were seven replays in the quarter-finals and the average winning margin was just 0-4. From then up until the format change in 2017 there was just one further replay (as well as one quarter-final that went to extra-time, as was the rule that year, 2011).
Average winning margins almost doubled during that time and the two least competitive years – winning margins averaging nearly 0-12 – occurred in the last three championships, 2015 and 2017, before the Super 8s were introduced the following year. That stabilised things a little but during the two years more than a quarter of the matches ended in double-digit whackings.
Last year the quarter-finals returned but the margins were still averaging more than 0-8 and that included the Galway-Armagh tie that went to penalties. Without it the other three averaged 0-11."
There is a before an after to the Dublin thing. And there are different patterns to before and after if you look at quarter finals.
If you take 2005 to 2012 as before and 2013 to 22 as after and ignore the covid seasons with no quarter finals in 20 and 21 you get 8 seasons for each.
In the before you have the 4 provinces providing teams with relative weights changing as power changes and a process of teams developing and fading out. So you can see see Cork losing 4 semi finals before winning the all Ireland in 2010 or Donegal going from a quarter final in 2009 to a semi in 2011 and the all Ireland the next year. You can also see Tyrone fading out post 08 and Dublin replacing them with 3 semi finals in a row from 2010.
What you can also see is Laois, Westmeath , Meath and Kildare regularly reaching quarter finals and Meath and Kildare getting to semi finals. There were 11 quarter final appearances by these teams in 8 seasons. You could imagine Meath reaching an All Ireland final in 2015...
After 2012 there were just 2 non Dublin Leinster quarter final appearances. But there were still quarter finals. And what you see is Monaghan reaching 5 , Galway 4 not including last year and Roscommon getting to 3. This year's Roscommon team is probably different but there was a real drop in quality of the last 2 quarter final teams after 2012. And this is the structural problem with the quarter finals until the previous arrangement is restored. Teams that don't deserve it reach the quarter finals because there is nobody else. Galway eventually got organised but Monaghan didn't or couldn't. Roscommon never made a semi-final. Monaghan reached one.
Another interesting thing about the after situation is that for 4 seasons the same mix of semi finalists was repeated . Mayo, Dublin, Tyrone, Kerry. 13,15,17,19.
This indicates that the natural process of teams rising and falling is broken.
Dublin and Kerry have been in 7 out of 8 quarterfinals since 2013. Kerry arsed up the Super 8s in 2018. There is a block of 4 "normal" teams and then the 2 slowcoaches. It's the same in Division 1. The quality is diluted.
The championship was a fragile ecosystem. So is Division 1.
And until the Dublin situation is resolved the competitions will continue to be compromised.
#IbelieveLaoisandKildareandWestmeathandMeath
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2023/05/17/sean-moran-there-are-simply-too-many-teams-in-the-all-ireland-round-robin/
"It’s hard to imagine what an innovation the quarter-finals were when introduced in 2001. Straight knockout matches between a variety of counties in pairings that were often unusual. As it happened in the first year three of the matches were reruns of provincial championship fixtures but this was alleviated by the first Kerry-Dublin encounter in the All-Ireland series for 16 years.
It even went to a replay. During the next six years there were seven replays in the quarter-finals and the average winning margin was just 0-4. From then up until the format change in 2017 there was just one further replay (as well as one quarter-final that went to extra-time, as was the rule that year, 2011).
Average winning margins almost doubled during that time and the two least competitive years – winning margins averaging nearly 0-12 – occurred in the last three championships, 2015 and 2017, before the Super 8s were introduced the following year. That stabilised things a little but during the two years more than a quarter of the matches ended in double-digit whackings.
Last year the quarter-finals returned but the margins were still averaging more than 0-8 and that included the Galway-Armagh tie that went to penalties. Without it the other three averaged 0-11."
There is a before an after to the Dublin thing. And there are different patterns to before and after if you look at quarter finals.
If you take 2005 to 2012 as before and 2013 to 22 as after and ignore the covid seasons with no quarter finals in 20 and 21 you get 8 seasons for each.
In the before you have the 4 provinces providing teams with relative weights changing as power changes and a process of teams developing and fading out. So you can see see Cork losing 4 semi finals before winning the all Ireland in 2010 or Donegal going from a quarter final in 2009 to a semi in 2011 and the all Ireland the next year. You can also see Tyrone fading out post 08 and Dublin replacing them with 3 semi finals in a row from 2010.
What you can also see is Laois, Westmeath , Meath and Kildare regularly reaching quarter finals and Meath and Kildare getting to semi finals. There were 11 quarter final appearances by these teams in 8 seasons. You could imagine Meath reaching an All Ireland final in 2015...
After 2012 there were just 2 non Dublin Leinster quarter final appearances. But there were still quarter finals. And what you see is Monaghan reaching 5 , Galway 4 not including last year and Roscommon getting to 3. This year's Roscommon team is probably different but there was a real drop in quality of the last 2 quarter final teams after 2012. And this is the structural problem with the quarter finals until the previous arrangement is restored. Teams that don't deserve it reach the quarter finals because there is nobody else. Galway eventually got organised but Monaghan didn't or couldn't. Roscommon never made a semi-final. Monaghan reached one.
Another interesting thing about the after situation is that for 4 seasons the same mix of semi finalists was repeated . Mayo, Dublin, Tyrone, Kerry. 13,15,17,19.
This indicates that the natural process of teams rising and falling is broken.
Dublin and Kerry have been in 7 out of 8 quarterfinals since 2013. Kerry arsed up the Super 8s in 2018. There is a block of 4 "normal" teams and then the 2 slowcoaches. It's the same in Division 1. The quality is diluted.
The championship was a fragile ecosystem. So is Division 1.
And until the Dublin situation is resolved the competitions will continue to be compromised.
#IbelieveLaoisandKildareandWestmeathandMeath
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GAA Discussion / "there are simply too many teams in the round robin"
« on: May 17, 2023, 04:27:16 PM »
The GAA wants to avoid one sided games but does nothing to promote competition.
Even at the quarter final stage last year 3 out of 4 matches were one-sided.
This is a big problem. The Dublin situation is also a problem for the all Ireland with the other Leinster teams weakened.
Finding 8 decent teams is a struggle. Finding 16 is impossible.
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2023/05/17/sean-moran-there-are-simply-too-many-teams-in-the-all-ireland-round-robin/
Even at the quarter final stage last year 3 out of 4 matches were one-sided.
This is a big problem. The Dublin situation is also a problem for the all Ireland with the other Leinster teams weakened.
Finding 8 decent teams is a struggle. Finding 16 is impossible.
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2023/05/17/sean-moran-there-are-simply-too-many-teams-in-the-all-ireland-round-robin/
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GAA Discussion / RG at arms length
« on: May 15, 2023, 11:40:53 AM »
It's hard to see how he can go back this side of the all Ireland Final.
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2023/05/14/rory-gallagher-the-great-unmentionable-as-derry-win-ulster-final-on-penalties-against-armagh/
His absence in the wake of domestic abuse allegations by his ex-wife meant that the occasion could go off without everyone on tenterhooks. The last thing the Ulster Council wanted was an incident or a talking point.On television, RTÉ cut to an ad break before Conor Glass began his winning captain’s speech, presumably erring on the side of caution.
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2023/05/14/rory-gallagher-the-great-unmentionable-as-derry-win-ulster-final-on-penalties-against-armagh/
His absence in the wake of domestic abuse allegations by his ex-wife meant that the occasion could go off without everyone on tenterhooks. The last thing the Ulster Council wanted was an incident or a talking point.On television, RTÉ cut to an ad break before Conor Glass began his winning captain’s speech, presumably erring on the side of caution.
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GAA Discussion / minor and u20
« on: May 03, 2023, 11:09:00 AM »
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2023/05/03/darragh-o-se-dublin-should-have-to-play-by-the-rules-like-anyone-else/
Same with the minor football. Anyone with any kind of common sense is saying the minor should come back up from under-17, like to me why under-20 should be back to under-21. In some ways both those competitions are also a victim of the condensed intercounty season. I don’t think that age group is working, and any former players I’ve spoken too agree, the minor is too young, they’re finishing too soon, and that should be changed back immediately. In the long run you’d keep more players in the game.
Same with the minor football. Anyone with any kind of common sense is saying the minor should come back up from under-17, like to me why under-20 should be back to under-21. In some ways both those competitions are also a victim of the condensed intercounty season. I don’t think that age group is working, and any former players I’ve spoken too agree, the minor is too young, they’re finishing too soon, and that should be changed back immediately. In the long run you’d keep more players in the game.
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General discussion / 1933-52
« on: April 18, 2023, 05:00:36 PM »
This is a really interesting period in the history of the championship.
3 Connacht and Ulster teams won their first all Irelands. Together they won 10 all Irelands, or 50% of all Irelands during the period.
And they never won another all Ireland. Roscommon's last was in 1944, Mayo's in 1951 and Cavan's in 1952.
It's mad.
3 Connacht and Ulster teams won their first all Irelands. Together they won 10 all Irelands, or 50% of all Irelands during the period.
And they never won another all Ireland. Roscommon's last was in 1944, Mayo's in 1951 and Cavan's in 1952.
It's mad.
7
GAA Discussion / Sam Maguire permutations
« on: April 11, 2023, 09:40:18 PM »
https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2023/0411/1376399-championship-permutations-field-for-sam-taking-shape/
The basics are:
• 16 teams will qualify for the seeded four-team groups that comprise the All-Ireland SFC group stages.
• Eight of those places are reserved for the provincial finalists. The next eight come from the final league rankings, which take promotion/relegation and league finals into account.
• Although ranked 20th after the league, as last year’s Tailteann Cup winners, Westmeath will take one of the 16 places.
There is some confusion that if Westmeath reached the Leinster final that would somehow open up another spot, but a place is only reserved for the Tailteann Cup winners if they haven’t already qualified. So, Westmeath will be taking the place of a higher-ranked team regardless and making the Leinster final would just mean a higher seeding for them in the group phase.
The top 16-ranked teams from the league were: 1. Mayo, 2. Galway, 3. Roscommon, 4. Tyrone, 5. Kerry, 6. Monaghan, 7. Dublin, 8. Derry, 9. Armagh, 10. Donegal, 11. Louth, 12. Cork, 13. Kildare, 14. Meath, 15. Cavan, 16. Fermanagh.
Clare’s Munster quarter-final win over Cork on Sunday means that the Banner (17th) or their semi-final opponents Limerick (18th) will take one of the 16 Sam Maguire spots. History-makers New York or Sligo (23rd) will take another, as will Westmeath .
That means Division 2 side Meath are now effectively ranked 17th and will have to reach the Leinster final to make the All-Ireland series.
Kildare (now 16th) would drop to the Tailteann Cup if the Royals (or Offaly) did make the Leinster decider, unless the Lilywhites also reached the provincial final by coming through the side of the draw containing Dublin. In that somewhat unlikely scenario, Cork would be the team to miss out.
Even if Louth or Westmeath take care of their Leinster rivals, Kildare also have to worry about Cavan or Fermanagh reaching the Ulster final, and the more remote prospect of Tipperary shocking Kerry in Munster.
Kildare will therefore be hoping Derry get off to a good start in their Ulster SFC defence against Fermanagh on Saturday but we can expect a few more twists before the final line-ups for the summer are confirmed.
If we were somehow to end up with both a Cavan v Fermanagh Ulster final and a Meath-Kildare Leinster decider then even Donegal, just relegated from Division 1, would end up in the Tailteann Cup.
League champions Mayo will be in the All-Ireland series, as third seeds, despite their defeat to Roscommon but the seven other teams who lost at the weekend will definitely play in the Tailteann: Antrim, Carlow, Leitrim, London, Longford, Waterford and Wexford.
The 17-team tournament (Kilkenny play in the JFC) is being played on a similar format to the Sam Maguire: four four-team groups, with the group winners advancing directly to quarter-finals. The four second-placed teams and three best third-placed teams, plus New York, will then contest preliminary quarter-finals.
However, if New York beat Sligo, then the Exiles will participate in the All-Ireland series instead and one of the Tailteann Cup groups will contain five teams, with all four third-placed teams reaching preliminary quarter-finals.
The basics are:
• 16 teams will qualify for the seeded four-team groups that comprise the All-Ireland SFC group stages.
• Eight of those places are reserved for the provincial finalists. The next eight come from the final league rankings, which take promotion/relegation and league finals into account.
• Although ranked 20th after the league, as last year’s Tailteann Cup winners, Westmeath will take one of the 16 places.
There is some confusion that if Westmeath reached the Leinster final that would somehow open up another spot, but a place is only reserved for the Tailteann Cup winners if they haven’t already qualified. So, Westmeath will be taking the place of a higher-ranked team regardless and making the Leinster final would just mean a higher seeding for them in the group phase.
The top 16-ranked teams from the league were: 1. Mayo, 2. Galway, 3. Roscommon, 4. Tyrone, 5. Kerry, 6. Monaghan, 7. Dublin, 8. Derry, 9. Armagh, 10. Donegal, 11. Louth, 12. Cork, 13. Kildare, 14. Meath, 15. Cavan, 16. Fermanagh.
Clare’s Munster quarter-final win over Cork on Sunday means that the Banner (17th) or their semi-final opponents Limerick (18th) will take one of the 16 Sam Maguire spots. History-makers New York or Sligo (23rd) will take another, as will Westmeath .
That means Division 2 side Meath are now effectively ranked 17th and will have to reach the Leinster final to make the All-Ireland series.
Kildare (now 16th) would drop to the Tailteann Cup if the Royals (or Offaly) did make the Leinster decider, unless the Lilywhites also reached the provincial final by coming through the side of the draw containing Dublin. In that somewhat unlikely scenario, Cork would be the team to miss out.
Even if Louth or Westmeath take care of their Leinster rivals, Kildare also have to worry about Cavan or Fermanagh reaching the Ulster final, and the more remote prospect of Tipperary shocking Kerry in Munster.
Kildare will therefore be hoping Derry get off to a good start in their Ulster SFC defence against Fermanagh on Saturday but we can expect a few more twists before the final line-ups for the summer are confirmed.
If we were somehow to end up with both a Cavan v Fermanagh Ulster final and a Meath-Kildare Leinster decider then even Donegal, just relegated from Division 1, would end up in the Tailteann Cup.
League champions Mayo will be in the All-Ireland series, as third seeds, despite their defeat to Roscommon but the seven other teams who lost at the weekend will definitely play in the Tailteann: Antrim, Carlow, Leitrim, London, Longford, Waterford and Wexford.
The 17-team tournament (Kilkenny play in the JFC) is being played on a similar format to the Sam Maguire: four four-team groups, with the group winners advancing directly to quarter-finals. The four second-placed teams and three best third-placed teams, plus New York, will then contest preliminary quarter-finals.
However, if New York beat Sligo, then the Exiles will participate in the All-Ireland series instead and one of the Tailteann Cup groups will contain five teams, with all four third-placed teams reaching preliminary quarter-finals.
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GAA Discussion / Longford vs Offaly 15.00 today
« on: April 09, 2023, 12:40:20 PM »
So many matches
9
GAA Discussion / 30 years since Derry's all Ireland win
« on: April 07, 2023, 02:05:30 PM »
Doesn't the time fly?
10
General discussion / What is the story with the trial for the murder of Katie Simpson?
« on: April 07, 2023, 02:00:49 PM »
Why was everything delayed so long ?
11
General discussion / Finalised court cases
« on: March 16, 2023, 11:50:45 AM »
https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2023/03/15/the-full-story-of-the-trial-of-stephen-silver-for-the-murder-of-garda-colm-horkan/
In his garda interviews Silver showed “strength of will”, resisted attempts by gardaí to build rapport and showed himself to be “not at all suggestible”. At one point he feigned sleep for several minutes while gardaí asked him questions, the professor said, showing an “intact ability to act reflectively and not impulsively and having regard to his own best interest as he sees it.” He said “fleeting” ideas Silver had the day prior to the shooting about MI6 and the SAS were not fixed false beliefs and therefore not delusions. He said Silver had a “long experience of behaving in a disruptive way” that required his family or members of the public to call gardaí. It was his “learned impunity”, the professor said, that caused him to become more irritable and angry as gardaí continued to detain and question him following the shooting. The professor explained: “He had learned that he could expect not to be charged and, at most, to be treated in a psychiatric hospital.
In his garda interviews Silver showed “strength of will”, resisted attempts by gardaí to build rapport and showed himself to be “not at all suggestible”. At one point he feigned sleep for several minutes while gardaí asked him questions, the professor said, showing an “intact ability to act reflectively and not impulsively and having regard to his own best interest as he sees it.” He said “fleeting” ideas Silver had the day prior to the shooting about MI6 and the SAS were not fixed false beliefs and therefore not delusions. He said Silver had a “long experience of behaving in a disruptive way” that required his family or members of the public to call gardaí. It was his “learned impunity”, the professor said, that caused him to become more irritable and angry as gardaí continued to detain and question him following the shooting. The professor explained: “He had learned that he could expect not to be charged and, at most, to be treated in a psychiatric hospital.
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General discussion / The next scandal
« on: March 02, 2023, 08:18:00 PM »
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2023/02/25/interest-rates-are-likely-to-go-a-lot-higher-than-we-had-expected/
And this Government and the last one repeatedly reassured those whose mortgages were sold to vulture funds that they would retain all the protections of those with bank loans. All the protections, it turned out, except when interest rates started to rise and the already high interest rates they are being charged shoot even higher. Initial Central Bank estimate are that around 38,000 borrowers are particularly exposed, facing high rates and not able to switch to fixed-rate products. Nobody, of course, foresaw interest rates rising so quickly. But they have done – and there is more to come.
And this Government and the last one repeatedly reassured those whose mortgages were sold to vulture funds that they would retain all the protections of those with bank loans. All the protections, it turned out, except when interest rates started to rise and the already high interest rates they are being charged shoot even higher. Initial Central Bank estimate are that around 38,000 borrowers are particularly exposed, facing high rates and not able to switch to fixed-rate products. Nobody, of course, foresaw interest rates rising so quickly. But they have done – and there is more to come.
13
GAA Discussion / Most likely provincial finalists
« on: March 02, 2023, 09:34:43 AM »
Leinster
The non Dublin half of the draw has Longford, Offaly, Louth , Meath, Westmeath . Westmeath are already in the Sam Maguire..
Munster
The non Kerry side has Cork, Clare, Limerick
Connacht
One of London, Sligo, New York, Leitrim
Ulster
Fermanagh, Derry, Tyrone, Monaghan
and
Donegal, Down, Cavan, Antrim, Fermanagh
The non Dublin half of the draw has Longford, Offaly, Louth , Meath, Westmeath . Westmeath are already in the Sam Maguire..
Munster
The non Kerry side has Cork, Clare, Limerick
Connacht
One of London, Sligo, New York, Leitrim
Ulster
Fermanagh, Derry, Tyrone, Monaghan
and
Donegal, Down, Cavan, Antrim, Fermanagh
14
General discussion / What is your favourite electronic music drop ?
« on: February 24, 2023, 05:25:07 PM »15
General discussion / Irish neutrality
« on: February 20, 2023, 03:10:45 PM »
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2023/02/11/neutrality-no-longer-seen-as-viable-posture-for-europe-post-ukraine/
Ukraine was the point of no return in Finland attitudes. “Neutrality” has long evolved into “military non-alignment” and a gradual closening to Nato, now membership. For years polls had shown only 22 – 25 per cent supported joining Nato. But by June 2022 it was 75 per cent. And Sweden followed.
Even in Switzerland, officially neutral since 1815, 52 per cent of respondents surveyed in May and June favoured closer links with Nato.
Support for neutrality in Austria remains high, although EU accession in 1995 was a clear sign of transition to a broader interpretation of neutrality. Of those surveyed recently only 16 per cent favour joining Nato. But, surrounded by five Nato members, Austrians feel protected and it has been taken for granted that Austria can rely on external help in the event of an attack.
It shares with Ireland the largely unspoken assumption of a Nato security blanket, essentially freeriding on neighbours’ willingness to come to our defence if attacked, a commitment made explicit now in the EU treaty. In Ireland, inevitably, squaring that reality will mean a gradual de facto reimagining of “neutrality” for a new age, initially with a commitment to a 50 per cent increase in defence spending.
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/02/06/defence-forces-vulnerable-as-irish-neutrality-over-finnish-military-expert-claims/
Lieut Gen Pulkkinen said a lack of resources within the Naval Service and Air Corps represented a serious “vulnerability” for the Republic. He agreed that, at present, if a significant threat emerged – such as the presence of a hostile nation’s military in Irish airspace – Ireland would be dependent on Britain’s Royal Air Force responding to investigate or, in an extreme scenario, take more lethal action.
Defence Forces officers also remain very concerned that Ireland does not have primary surveillance radar to monitor the country’s airspace, which they describe as “basic” technology.
Asked what Ireland’s defence vulnerabilities were and how they should be addressed, Lieut Gen Pulkkinen said: “Provide your Defence Forces with sustainable and reasonable long-term funding, that’s one of the vulnerabilities you have inside your military.”
Due to the changing security climate – with a much more aggressive Russia and cyberthreats coming from teams of hackers backed by rogue states – he believed “traditional neutrality is over”. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said all countries had to “adapt” in their preparedness to defend themselves, starting with being able to monitor their seas and airspace.
Lieut Gen Pulkkinen said the consequences of the war – higher inflation, increased fuel and energy prices, and millions of displaced Ukrainians – demonstrate how “everything could be weaponised… food, energy, human beings”. This, he said, underlined the need for a “strong and agile” Defence Forces.
Ukraine was the point of no return in Finland attitudes. “Neutrality” has long evolved into “military non-alignment” and a gradual closening to Nato, now membership. For years polls had shown only 22 – 25 per cent supported joining Nato. But by June 2022 it was 75 per cent. And Sweden followed.
Even in Switzerland, officially neutral since 1815, 52 per cent of respondents surveyed in May and June favoured closer links with Nato.
Support for neutrality in Austria remains high, although EU accession in 1995 was a clear sign of transition to a broader interpretation of neutrality. Of those surveyed recently only 16 per cent favour joining Nato. But, surrounded by five Nato members, Austrians feel protected and it has been taken for granted that Austria can rely on external help in the event of an attack.
It shares with Ireland the largely unspoken assumption of a Nato security blanket, essentially freeriding on neighbours’ willingness to come to our defence if attacked, a commitment made explicit now in the EU treaty. In Ireland, inevitably, squaring that reality will mean a gradual de facto reimagining of “neutrality” for a new age, initially with a commitment to a 50 per cent increase in defence spending.
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/02/06/defence-forces-vulnerable-as-irish-neutrality-over-finnish-military-expert-claims/
Lieut Gen Pulkkinen said a lack of resources within the Naval Service and Air Corps represented a serious “vulnerability” for the Republic. He agreed that, at present, if a significant threat emerged – such as the presence of a hostile nation’s military in Irish airspace – Ireland would be dependent on Britain’s Royal Air Force responding to investigate or, in an extreme scenario, take more lethal action.
Defence Forces officers also remain very concerned that Ireland does not have primary surveillance radar to monitor the country’s airspace, which they describe as “basic” technology.
Asked what Ireland’s defence vulnerabilities were and how they should be addressed, Lieut Gen Pulkkinen said: “Provide your Defence Forces with sustainable and reasonable long-term funding, that’s one of the vulnerabilities you have inside your military.”
Due to the changing security climate – with a much more aggressive Russia and cyberthreats coming from teams of hackers backed by rogue states – he believed “traditional neutrality is over”. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said all countries had to “adapt” in their preparedness to defend themselves, starting with being able to monitor their seas and airspace.
Lieut Gen Pulkkinen said the consequences of the war – higher inflation, increased fuel and energy prices, and millions of displaced Ukrainians – demonstrate how “everything could be weaponised… food, energy, human beings”. This, he said, underlined the need for a “strong and agile” Defence Forces.