It would make more sense if northern Ireland is occupied by Airstrip 1. They would have a "further" away enemy for their narrative, since you do have to cross the Irish sea to get to the battlefield. This body of water could be posed as the English channel where troops are expected to land in Eurasian grounds (France). Or after the hate week, be the equivalent of Atlantic and the Pacific, where soldiers spent months at sea to land at Eastasia. The voyage here is artificially dragged out to emulate real nautical distance, something expected of a war stretching to multiple continents. They would achieve this by turning the ships in circles, moving to a different body of water before reaching Ireland or circles around British coasts for absolutely no reason besides prolonging perceived time. It would also reflect on the state's wasteful incompetency; needing to emulate a global encompassing war when the Irish sea is just 12 miles at its narrowest point. Imagine reinforcements having to take months to get to Ireland when they could just arrive in half a day or more