The Cyprus Contingent
The year’s clearest firmly dated national decision came from the Cyprus crisis. Violence and political breakdown between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities had created an international emergency, with Greece, Turkey and Britain all directly involved under the island’s contested constitutional arrangements. On 4 March, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 186, recommending the creation of a peacekeeping force. Ireland, already experienced in United Nations operations in the Congo, was asked to contribute.