The Emergency (Irish: Ré na Práinne) was an official euphemism used by the Irish Government during the 1940s to refer to its position during World War II. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. A euphemism is a substitution of an agreeable or less offensive expression in place of one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener or in the case of doublespeak The Government of Ireland (Rialtas na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The state was officially neutral during World War II, but declared an official state of emergency on 2 September 1939,^[1] and enacted the Emergency Powers Act the following day. For other uses of Neutral and Neutrality see Neutral A neutral country takes no side in a War between other parties A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors or order government agencies Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[2] This gave sweeping new powers to the government for the duration of the Emergency, such as internment, censorship of the press and correspondence, and the government control of the economy. The term has remained in use, for example, as a cultural and historic context in school books. The Emergency Powers Act finally lapsed on 2 September 1946. Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[3][4] Although the state of emergency itself was not rescinded until 1 September 1976,^[5] no emergency legislation was ever in force after 1946 to exploit this anomaly. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Background

In 1922, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty that ended the War of Independence, the south-western 26 counties of Ireland became an autonomous dominion, known as the Irish Free State, while the north-eastern six counties, known as Northern Ireland, remained part of the United Kingdom. The Anglo-Irish Treaty (An Conradh Angla-Éireannach officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a Treaty The Irish War of Independence (or Tan War, or Anglo-Irish War, Irish: Cogadh na Saoirse) from January 1919 to July 1921 was a guerrilla A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities under sovereign authority within the British Empire and The Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann (1922&ndash1937 was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This settlement was followed by the bitter Irish Civil War that followed immediately (between the pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty factions of the Irish Republican Army), which was strongly to affect Irish responses to the coming global war. The Irish Civil War ( June 28 1922 &ndash May 24 1923) pitted supporters of the Anglo-Irish Treaty against its opponents The Irish Republican Army ( IRA) (Óglaigh na hÉireann was a military organisation descended from the Irish Volunteers, established 25 November 1913 and who

Since 1932, the governing party of the new state had been the republican Fianna Fáil, led by Éamon de Valera (a veteran of both Irish wars). Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach shortened to Fianna Fáil ( is currently the largest Political party in the Éamon de Valera (ˈeɪmən dɛvəˈlɛrə (born Edward George de Valera) (14 October 1882 &ndash 29 August 1975 was one of the dominant political figures in 20th century In 1937, de Valera successfully introduced a new constitution, which had distanced the state further from the United Kingdom, and which changed its name to "Ireland" (in Irish, Éire). Éire (ˈeːrʲə) is the Irish name for the island of Ireland and of the state of the same name.

De Valera had good relations with the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain and not only had been able to gain British recognition of the new constitution, but had negotiated the return of the Treaty Ports (three Irish ports  – the coastal defences at Cork Harbour and Bere Island in Co. Cork, and Lough Swilly in Co. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869 &ndash 9 November 1940 was a British Conservative Politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom After the Irish War of Independence when the Irish Free State won independence in 1922 three deep water Treaty Ports at Lough Swilly, Berehaven Bere Island (An tOileán Mór is an Island in the west of County Cork in the Ireland. County Cork (Contae Chorcaí is the most southerly and the largest of the modern counties of Ireland. Lough Swilly ( Loch Súilí in Irish) in Ireland is a Fjord -like body of water lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula Donegal {ndash} that had remained under British jurisdiction after the Treaty), and resolved their economic differences. The major remaining disagreement between the countries was the status of Northern Ireland. The Irish saw it as an integral part of the nation of Ireland, while the British were unwilling to coerce the Unionist majority there into a united Ireland. Unionism in Ireland, is a belief in the desirability of a full constitutional and institutional relationship between Ireland and Great Britain based on the terms and Within Ireland itself, armed opposition to the treaty settlement took the name of the anti-treaty IRA, seeing itself as the "true" government of Ireland. This article deals with the Irish republican organisation opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty styling itself "Irish Republican Army" as it existed from the time of the Treaty This IRA mounted armed attacks both in Great Britain (most notably the S-Plan in 1939) and Ireland. The S-Plan or Sabotage Campaign or England Campaign was a campaign of Bombing and sabotage against the civil economic and military infrastructure of Britain

Militarily the State was weak. In the 1930s the Department of Finance had refused to give priority to increased defence spending as it thought Britain would defend Ireland in any attack^[6]. The army was then only 14,000-strong and lightly armed, and the navy and air force negligible.

Declaration of The Emergency

By September 1939, a general European war was inevitable. On 2 September, de Valera told the Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament) that neutrality was the best policy for the country. ga '''Dáil Éireann''' ( English House of Representatives of Ireland) is the principal chamber of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament In this he was almost uniformly supported by the Dáil and the country at large (including the pro-British elements). ^[7] The Irish constitution was amended to allow the Government to take emergency powers, and then the Emergency Powers Act 1939 was passed that included censorship of the press and mail correspondence. The First Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was effected by the First Amendment of the Constitution Act 1939, and signed into law on 2 September 1939 Postal censorship is the Inspection or examination of Mail, most often by Governments that can include opening reading or marking of covers, The government was able to take control of the economic life of the country under the new Minister of Supply Seán Lemass. Seán Francis Lemass (15 July 1899 &ndash 11 May 1971 was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and third Taoiseach of Ireland from 1959 until 1966 Liberal use was made of all of these powers. Internment of those who had committed a crime or were about to commit one would be used extensively against the IRA. Censorship was under the charge of the Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures, Frank Aiken. Frank Aiken (Proinsias Mac Aodhagáin new spelling Proinsias Mac Aogáin; 13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983 was a senior Irish Politician. It was necessary to prevent publication of matter that might undermine the neutrality of the State and to prevent it becoming a clearing house for foreign intelligence, though over the period of The Emergency, the Act started to be used for more party political purposes such as preventing the publication of the numbers of Irish soldiers serving in the United Kingdom armed forces or industrial disputes within the state^[8]. In addition, the information made available to Irish people was also carefully controlled. De Valera performed the duties of Minister of External Affairs, though the secretary for the Department of External Affairs, Joseph Walshe was very influential. Joseph (Joe Walshe was an Irish civil servant. As Secretary of the Department of External Affairs from 1923-46 he was the department's most senior official

On the declaration of the emergency, Walshe asked for assurances from the German minister in Dublin, Eduard Hempel that Germany would not use its legation for espionage nor attack Irish trade with Britain. Eduard Hempel (1887&ndash1972 was the Nazi German Minister to Ireland between 1937 and 1945 &mdash in the build up to and during The Emergency ( Second World He then travelled to London on 6 September where he met the Dominions Secretary, Anthony Eden, who was conciliatory and defended Irish neutrality in subsequent Cabinet meetings. Events 3114 BC - According to the Proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started Robert Anthony Eden 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897 &ndash 14 January 1977 was a British Conservative Politician In addition, the appointment of Sir John Maffey as a British representative in Dublin was agreed. John Loader Maffey 1st Baron Rugby, GCMG, KCB, KCVO, CSI, CIE ( 1 July 1877 &ndash 20 April,

For the Irish government, neutrality meant not showing partiality to either side. On one hand, that meant the open announcement of military activity such as the sighting of submarines or the arrival of parachutists, and the suppression of any foreign intelligence activity. Ireland's geographical position meant that this policy (which was applied fully and consistently) tended to benefit the Allies more than Germany. For example, British servicemen who crashed over the State were allowed to go free if they could claim not to have been on a combat mission, otherwise they were released "on licence" (promise to remain). Many chose to escape to Great Britain via Northern Ireland. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of ^[9] Also, Allied mechanics were allowed to retrieve crash landed Allied aircraft. There was extensive cooperation between British and Irish intelligence and the exchange of information such as detailed weather reports of the Atlantic Ocean; the decision to go ahead with the D-day landings was decided by a weather report from Blacksod Bay, County Mayo. D-Day may also refer to Decimal Day in the United Kingdom. D-Day is a term often used in Military parlance to denote ^[10]

On the other hand, the government did not show any sort of public preference to either side, unlike the United States when it was neutral, for example. This is partly because de Valera had to keep national unity, which meant accommodating the large swathe of Irish society that rejected anything to do with the British, and that admired Germany to some extent (largely owing to Germany's historical role as an ally of Ireland, having failed in an attempt to supply a small cache of arms, possibly to the rebels of 1916). Roger David Casement (Ruairí Mac Easmainn 1 September 1864 &ndash 3 August 1916 ( Sir Roger Casement CMG between 1911 and until his execution for treason in August The Easter Rising (Éirí Amach na Cásca was a rebellion staged in Ireland in Easter Week, 1916 These attitudes were shared by Aiken^[11], and Walshe^[12], and to a large extent by de Valera himself. The Fianna Fáil government ruled alone and did not accommodate any other party in decision-making. ^[13]

The IRA and The Emergency

Main article: Irish Republican Army (1922-1969)

In the early months of the emergency, the greatest threat to the State came from the IRA. This article deals with the Irish republican organisation opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty styling itself "Irish Republican Army" as it existed from the time of the Treaty In the Christmas Raid in 1939, one million rounds of ammunition were stolen from the Irish Army by the IRA (though it was mostly recovered in the following weeks)^[14] and there were a number of murders, mostly of policemen. The term Christmas Raid is a name used within the folklore of the Irish Republican Army (IRA to describe the theft of a The Irish Army ( Arm na hÉireann) is the main branch of the Irish Defence Forces ( Óglaigh na hÉireann) ^[15] In addition, the existing emergency legislation was undermined by the obtaining of a writ of habeas corpus by Seán MacBride resulted in the release of all those who had been interned. Habeas corpus (ˈheɪbiəs ˈkɔɹpəs ( Latin: command that you have the body is the name of a legal action or Writ, through which a person can seek relief Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 &ndash 15 January 1988 was a prominent international politician. The government responded with the Offences Against the State Act, which established the Special Criminal Court, and rearrested and interned IRA activists. The Special Criminal Court (Cúirt Choiriúil Speisialta is a Juryless criminal Court in the Republic of Ireland which tries terrorist and A hunger strike was started in Mountjoy Prison in an attempt to gain political status, which collapsed after the death of two prisoners. Mountjoy Prison ( (founded as Mountjoy Gaol) nicknamed The Joy, is a closed medium security Prison located in Phibsboro in the centre of In retaliation Dublin Castle was bombed and there were a number of serious incidents throughout the country. Dublin Castle (Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, is a major Irish governmental complex formerly the fortified

The IRA fostered links with German intelligence (the Abwehr) and Foreign Ministry, with men such as Francis Stuart travelling to Germany to talk, though these attempts were largely ineffectual due to a combination of Abwehr and Foreign Ministry incompetence and IRA weakness. The Abwehr was a German intelligence organization from 1921 to 1944 Henry Francis Montgomery Stuart (1902–2000 was a prolific Irish writer whose novels have a thrusting modernist iconoclasm ^[16] Germans also came to Ireland, the most notable of whom was Hermann Görtz, who was captured in possession of "Plan Kathleen"- an IRA plan that detailed a German supported invasion of Northern Ireland. Hermann Görtz (1890-May 23 1947 was a German Spy in Britain and Ireland before and during World War II. Plan Kathleen, sometimes referred to as Artus Plan, was a Military plan for the invasion of Northern Ireland sanctioned by Stephen Hayes Acting Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of

Two IRA men were executed for the murder of two policemen in September 1940, and the IRA became increasingly ineffective in the face of the resolute use of internment, the breaking of hunger strikes, and the application of execution for capital offences. During 1941, the hope of a German invasion had faded and funding from the United States had been cut off. The IRA leadership were mostly interned within the Curragh internment camp, where they were treated increasingly harshly, or on the run. The Curragh ( Irish An Currach is a flat open Plain of almost 5000 acres (20 km² of common land in County Kildare The IRA remained active, particularly in Northern Ireland, but they ceased to be a major threat to the stability of Ireland. Northern Campaign 1942 - 1944 is a term used to describe attacks involving volunteers of the Irish Republican Army (IRA in World War II during the period September 1942 - December

Ireland and Great Britain 1939–1941

After the German invasion of Norway in April 1940, Winston Churchill became the British Prime Minister. The Norwegian Campaign, lasting from 9 April to 10 June 1940, led to the first direct land confrontation between the military forces of the Allies Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. This and the subsequent fall of France in June 1940 brought the war close to Ireland. In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world

The United Kingdom was now the only major European impediment to Germany. A major British concern was now whether Germany would invade Ireland. The British view was that the Irish Army was not powerful enough to resist an invasion for long enough for reinforcement from the UK, particularly with the IRA as a potential fifth column, and wished to be able to forestall this by stationing troops and ships within the Irish state. A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group to which it is expected to be loyal such as a Nation. In addition, this view made the UK reluctant to provide military supplies because of the risk of them falling into German hands after an invasion. The Irish government's view was that they would be more successful against the Germans than the states already occupied, and there could be no agreement for joint military measures while partition continued, and would not commit themselves beyond neutrality for the whole island should it end.

Unification refused?

By June 1940, the British representative in Ireland, Maffey, was urging that "the strategic unity of our island group" should take precedence over Ulster Unionism, and Churchill was making clear that there should be no military action taken against Ireland. ^[17] The Minister for Health, Malcolm MacDonald, who had negotiated the 1938 trade agreement with Ireland, was sent to Dublin to explore possibilities with de Valera. Malcolm Ian Macdonald (born 7 January 1950) is a former English footballer nicknamed "Supermac" famed for scoring goals for The Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement was signed on 25 April 1938 by Ireland and the United Kingdom. From these Chamberlain produced a six-point proposal that committed the UK government to a united Ireland and proposed the setting-up of a joint body to effect this. A Joint Defence Council would be set up immediately and the State provided with military equipment. In return the State would join the Allies and intern all German and Italian aliens. Rejected by the Irish government, the proposal was then amended to strengthen the steps towards a united Ireland, and no longer requiring Ireland to join the war, but only to invite British forces to use Irish bases and ports. De Valera rejected the revised proposal on 4 July and made no counter proposal. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples One reason for this would have the difficult calculation of how damaging the inevitable split in Ireland would be if such a proposal was accepted. One of the main reasons was that the Irish Government thought that the UK would lose the war and did not want to be on the losing side: during the negotiations Walshe had produced two memoranda for de Valera (one entitled Britain's Inevitable Defeat) predicting the isolation of Britain, the dismemberment of its empire, and finally its inevitable crushing by Germany. Walshe also wrote approvingly of the character of the Pétain government. Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 ^[18] Walshe's memoranda affected de Valera, with him telling Mac Donald that Britain could not destroy this [German] colossal machine. ^[19]

Ports and trade

The great majority of Ireland's trade was with the United Kingdom, and most of its supplies came from there. This created great difficulties for the Irish government as Germany tried to blockade the UK. In September 1940, an advantageous trade agreement to the state fell through, owing to the refusal to allow transshipment facilities following German pressure, including the threat to blockade Ireland and the bombing of Ambrosetown and Campile in County Wexford. Transshipment or Transhipment is the Shipment of goods to an intermediate destination and then from there to yet another destination Campile ( is a small Village situated in the south of County Wexford, Ireland. County Wexford (Contae Loch Garman is a maritime county in the southeast of Ireland, in the province of Leinster. ^[20]. In the autumn of 1940, the threat of German invasion had receded, but relations between the UK and Ireland deteriorated, largely as a result of the increased losses of Allied shipping to U-boat attack. U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word, itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot ( undersea boat) and refers To try to prevent some of these losses, the UK wanted sea and air bases in western Ireland. ^[21] On the 5 November, in the House of Commons, Churchill complained:

The fact that we cannot use the South and West coasts of Ireland to refuel our flotillas and aircraft and thus protect the trade by which Ireland as well as Great Britain lives, is a most heavy and grievous burden and one which should never have been placed on our shoulders, broad though they may be. Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany)

The Irish government chose to interpret this sentence (out of a seven page speech) as a threat of invasion. Some sort of armed occupation was a real possibility^[22], but the balance of evidence is that there was never a serious threat. ^[23] Large elements of the British cabinet and government and those of its allies were opposed to any armed intervention in Ireland; however, in late 1940 and early 1941, relations between the two countries did worsen. The British stopped informing Ireland of its order of battle in Northern Ireland, while the Irish Army drew up plans for defence against the British. The United Kingdom also started to restrict trade to Ireland, reasoning that if Ireland would not do anything to protect the lives of those bringing in supplies, it should at least share in the deprivations being felt in the UK. Relations between the UK and Ireland only really eased in the middle of 1941 with the invasion of the Soviet Union by Germany and an agreement to allow Irish immigration to Britain to work in the war industries, resulting in up to 200,000 Irish people doing so by 1945. Operation Barbarossa ( Unternehmen Barbarossa) was the Codename for Nazi Germany 's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 ^[24]

Ireland and the neutral United States

At the beginning of the Second World War, the United States president was Franklin Roosevelt. The United States was neutral, and Roosevelt's actions were circumscribed by neutrality legislation; however, Roosevelt was a vehement anti-Nazi, an unequivocal supporter of the UK in the war, and personally close to Churchill. The U. S. minister to Ireland was David Gray, a personal friend of Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor. David Gray (1870-1968 was best known as the United States Ambassador to Éire from 15 April 1940 until 28 June 1947. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (ˈɛlɪnɔr ˈroʊzəvɛlt October 11 1884 &ndash November 7 1962 De Valera saw the U. S. as a bulwark against invasion from any party, while the U. S. saw the support of Britain in the war as the priority, and so while supportive of Irish neutrality was sceptical of it extending over the whole island and wanted an arrangement to be made with the UK over ports, possibly through the leasing of them. ^[25] The Irish government wanted the U. S. to sell them arms. This was supported by Gray, and by the British government, but only if not at the expense of their own allocation. As a result, in 1940 all surplus U. S. arms were sold to the UK and Canada. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page

The strong support of the UK by the Roosevelt administration led the Irish government to try to bolster anti-Roosevelt isolationist opinion in the November 1940 presidential election and a Christmas radio broadcast by de Valera to the U. S. supporting isolationism. An attempt to influence Roosevelt's special emissary, Wendell Willkie on a visit to the Great Britain and Ireland January 1941, failed. Wendell Lewis Willkie ( February 18 1892 &ndash October 8 1944) was a corporate lawyer in the United States and the Republican In a further attempt to obtain arms from the U. S. de Valera decided that Aiken should visit Washington. Gray supported the idea of a visit, but had doubts over whether Aiken was the right person to make it, and stressed that the Irish were only likely to obtain arms if they co-operated with the British purchasing commission. Aiken left Ireland in March 1941. For his St Patrick's day address, de Valera claimed that Ireland was under blockade from both sides and that neutrality protected Ireland from "the hazards of imperial adventure". Aiken's visit was disastrous. ^[26] His anti-British views and, in American eyes, overestimation of Ireland's military capabilities went across all the administration's policies towards the war. As well as alienating Roosevelt and other members of the administration, he failed to use the letters of introduction to senior Democrats, including Eleanor Roosevelt, provided to him by Gray. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. Aiken spent the last seven weeks of his visit on what was seen as an anti-administration speaking tour, associating closely with isolationist opinion. The result was that the U. S. would not sell any armaments to the State, and relations between the two countries significantly worsened, the U. S. becoming even more unequivocal in its support of the UK. In October 1941 on receiving a note from the Irish government asking for its intentions with regard to Northern Ireland on the stationing of personnel associated with the lend-lease programme, the U. Lend-Lease (Public Law 77-11 was the name of the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, S. State Department referred them to the British government as Northern Ireland was, they insisted, part of the UK ^[27]

Significant events

A memorial erected in Dublin in 1991 to members of the Irish merchant navy lost during The Emergency

Belfast Blitz

Main article: Belfast blitz

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland (as part of the United Kingdom) was at war and the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast were among the strategic targets for German attack. The Belfast Blitz was an event that occurred on the night of Easter Tuesday 15 April 1941. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a diversified heavy industrial company specialising in Shipbuilding, Ship breaking, Offshore construction Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland. The Luftwaffe carried out a bombing raid on Belfast on April 7, 1941; eight people died. ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. On Easter Tuesday, April 15, 1941, 180 Luftwaffe bombers attacked Belfast. Events 1450 - Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. There was no defence from the RAF. There were only seven anti-aircraft batteries in Belfast. Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging hostile military Aircraft in defence of ground objectives, ground or naval forces However they ceased firing lest they damage the (absent) RAF airplanes. Over 200 tons of explosives, 80 landmines attached to parachutes and 800 firebomb canisters were dropped. Over 1,000 died and 56,000 houses (more than half of the city's housing stock) were damaged leaving 100,000 temporarily homeless. Outside of London, this was the greatest loss of life in a night raid during the Battle of Britain mostly due to the lack of aerial defences over Belfast. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Battle of Britain (German ''Luftschlacht um England'' is the name given to the sustained strategic effort by the German Luftwaffe during the summer and At 4. 30 AM Basil Brooke asked de Valera for assistance. Basil Stanlake Brooke 1st Viscount Brookeborough, Bt, KG, CBE, MC, PC, HML ( June 9 1888 &ndash Éamon de Valera (ˈeɪmən dɛvəˈlɛrə (born Edward George de Valera) (14 October 1882 &ndash 29 August 1975 was one of the dominant political figures in 20th century Within two hours, 13 fire tenders from Dublin, Drogheda, Dundalk and Dún Laoghaire were on their way to cross the Irish border to assist their Belfast colleagues. A fire apparatus, fire engine, fire truck, or fire appliance is a vehicle designed to assist in fighting Fires by transporting Firefighters Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Drogheda (ˈdrɒhədə ˈdrɔːdə ( Droichead Átha in Irish, meaning "Bridge of the Ford" is an industrial and port town in County Louth on Dundalk (Dún Dealgan is the County town of County Louth in Ireland, situated close to the border with Northern Ireland. Dún Laoghaire (in Irish d̪ˠuːn̪ˠ ˈɫeːrʲə sometimes spelled Dún Laoire; Anglicised as Dunleary, dʌn ˈlɪəri is a suburban De Valera followed up with his "they are our people" speech and formally protested to Berlin. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Although there was a later raid on May 4, it was confined to the docks and shipyards.

Dublin bombing

Main article: Bombing of Dublin in World War II

In early January, 1941, there had been several minor German bombings of Irish territory. The Bombing of Dublin in World War II occurred on 31 May 1941 when amid World War II, the German Air Force ( Luftwaffe) bombed Dublin There were three deaths in Borris, County Carlow and other incidents in Wexford, Dublin and at the Curragh. County Carlow (Contae Cheatharlach is a County in Ireland located towards the south east of Ireland, in the province of Leinster. Wexford (derived from Old Norse Veisafjǫrðr (in some sources spelled "Waes Fiord" – veisa meaning "mudflat stagnant pool" The Curragh ( Irish An Currach is a flat open Plain of almost 5000 acres (20 km² of common land in County Kildare The public mood was already agitated, fearing a German invasion and the implications of the bombings added to the concern. So as not to antagonise the Germans further, the Irish authorities initially declined to confirm that the bombs were German. Public speculation, and IRA claims, that the bombs were British, or German but released by British aircraft, later prompted Irish Government denials. ^[28]

On the night of May 30/31 of the same year, Dublin's Northside was the target of a Luftwaffe air raid. The Northside ( Taobh Ó Thuaidh in Irish) is the area in County Dublin, Ireland bounded to the south by the River Liffey to the east ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. Thirty-eight were killed and seventy houses were destroyed on Summerhill Parade, North Strand and the North Circular Road. North Strand is an area of the inner city on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland The German government claimed the raid was an error and Germany paid compensation after the war. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Irish government promptly protested and Germany apologised claiming that high winds were to blame or there had been British interference with navigation signals. Unlike the earlier bombing incidents, there was no public speculation that the perpetrators were other than the Luftwaffe. ^[29] On October 3, the German news agency announced that the German government would pay compensation for dropping bombs on Dublin. Winston Churchill later conceded that the raids might have been the result of a British invention which distorted Luftwaffe radio guidance beams so as to throw their planes off course^[30][31]. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874

The Allies and neutrality

• When, in 1941, the Irish police discovered "Operation Green" in a residence where German agent Hermann Görtz had been staying, the Irish promptly passed copies to MI5 in London, who in turn forwarded them to the RUC in Belfast. Operation Green (Unternehmen Grün often also referred to as Case Green (de ''Fall Grün'' or Plan Green (de ''Plan Grün'' was a full scale operations plan Hermann Görtz (1890-May 23 1947 was a German Spy in Britain and Ireland before and during World War II. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Joint plans of action were then drawn up between the British and Irish intelligence services and military under Plan W. Plan W (sometimes referred to as "the W Plan") during the Second World War, was a plan of joint military operations between Ireland and the
• General McKenna, the Irish Army's Chief of Staff, regularly visited British officers in Belfast and in 1942 twelve Irish officers undertook training with British special forces in Poyntzpass, County Armagh. Poyntzpass (in Irish Pas an Phointe) is a small Village situated between Tandragee and Newry. Cooperation did not end there and also included the British signalling through GPO lines when it believed German planes were headed towards Ireland. ^[32]
• From December 1940 onwards the Dublin Government agreed to accept over 2000 British women and children evacuated from London due to "The Blitz". The Blitz was the sustained bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941 in World War II. These evacuees included over two hundred children orphaned by the bombing. ^[33]
• Attacks on Irish vessels, such as that on the "Kerlogue", which the British had initially attributed to the Germans, but later admitted responsibility for and offered to pay compensation when fragments of British ammunition were discovered embedded in the ship. Background Coasters Transport within Ireland was very difficult in the aftermath of the Anglo-Irish War and the subsequent Civil War. ^[34] The ship had been attacked by aircraft No. 307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron, after being mistaken for a French vessel. No 307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron " ''Lwów'' ''Eagle-owls'' " (307 ^[35]
• The mining of the St. George's channel to within seven miles of the Irish coast at Dungarvan, and the use of Irish waters for British shipping traffic. Dungarvan ( Dún Garbháin in Irish) is a town and Harbour on the south coast of Ireland in the province of Munster. ^[36]
• London was informed when U-boats were sighted. ^[37]

The Axis and neutrality

• German pilots, aircrew and naval personnel who were discovered in Ireland were always interned and remained so for the duration of the conflict. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. ^[38]
• In July 1940, three German Abwehr agents were arrested outside Skibbereen after landing near Castletownshend, County Cork. The Abwehr was a German intelligence organization from 1921 to 1944 Skibbereen ( Irish: An Sciobairín) is a town in Ireland. The name "Skibbereen" (often shortened to "Skibb" means "little boat Castletownshend (Baile an Chaisleáin on Ireland 's southwest coast is a village about eight km from Skibbereen, in County Cork, Province of Munster County Cork (Contae Chorcaí is the most southerly and the largest of the modern counties of Ireland. The agents' mission had been to infiltrate Britain via Ireland.
• The chief Abwehr spy in Ireland was Hermann Görtz. The Abwehr was a German intelligence organization from 1921 to 1944 Hermann Görtz (1890-May 23 1947 was a German Spy in Britain and Ireland before and during World War II. Approximately 12 spies were deployed, mostly with little success, including Günther Schütz, Ernst Weber-Drohl (a former circus strongman) and Henry Obed, an Indian. Günther Schütz ( 17 April 1912 -1991 was a German citizen who performed a mission for German Intelligence ( Abwehr) in World War II, as part
• The activities of German agents in Ireland throughout the war years and their attempts to contact and court both Irish Republican Army and disaffected Irish Army personnel - many of these agents, if not all, were captured/exposed. This article deals with the Irish republican organisation opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty styling itself "Irish Republican Army" as it existed from the time of the Treaty (See main article on IRA Nazi links IRA Abwehr World War II. )
• The German ambassador at the German Legation in Dublin, Eduard Hempel, had his radio confiscated in 1943 to prevent him from passing information to his leaders. Eduard Hempel (1887&ndash1972 was the Nazi German Minister to Ireland between 1937 and 1945 &mdash in the build up to and during The Emergency ( Second World Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. ^[39]
• The U-boat torpedo attack which sunk the vessel "Irish Oak" on 19 May 1943. U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word, itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot ( undersea boat) and refers The SS Irish Oak was an Irish Steamship sailing under a neutral flag, which was sunk in mid-Atlantic by a (then unidentified Events 1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships 110 men and Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. De Valera said that "it was a wanton and inexcusable act. There was no possibility of a mistake, the conditions of visibility were good and the neutral markings on our ships were clear. There was no warning given. "^[40]
• The "North Strand Bombing" on 31 May 1941^[41] took place in Malin, County Donegal on 5 May 1941, and Arklow on 1 June 1941. Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. County Donegal (ˌdʌnəˈgɔːl Irish: Contae Dhún na nGall. Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Arklow ( is a historic town located in County Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland. Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[42]
• Repeated attempts to offer captured British weaponry to de Valera if he would side with the Germans. ^[43]

Relations with Germany

In pursuit of its policy of neutrality, the Irish Government refused to close the German and Japanese embassies. In 1939, the German Government had very little intelligence on Ireland and Britain. This is because Hitler had hoped for a détente or alliance with Britain, whom he considered the "natural allies" of Nazi Germany. Détente is a French term meaning a relaxing or easing the term has been used in international politics since the early 1970s ^[44] When concerted efforts to build a reliable picture of British military strength did begin around 1939–1940, efforts were first made to infiltrate spies to Britain via Ireland, but these attempts consistently failed (See Operation Lobster and Operation Seagull). In 1940 the Germans decided to send agents and Saboteurs to infiltrate Britain from Norway and Northern France. For the Operation Seagull involving Abwehr see Operation Seagull (Ireland ---- Operation Seagull was a British action during the Second World The Abwehr also made attempts to foster intelligence gathering links with the IRA, but found that the IRA was in no condition to be of serious use — these attempts were to occur during the period 1939–1943. The German military also drew up plans detailing how an invasion of Ireland might take place. These plans were titled Plan Green and any invasion was to act as a diversionary attack in support of a main attack to conquer Britain titled Operation Sealion. Operation Green (Unternehmen Grün often also referred to as Case Green (de ''Fall Grün'' or Plan Green (de ''Plan Grün'' was a full scale operations plan Operation Sealion (Unternehmen Seelöwe was Germany's plan to invade the United Kingdom during World War II, beginning in 1940 Both of these plans were shelved by 1942. When U.S. Army troops began to be stationed in Northern Ireland in 1942, Plan Green was reprinted because there was a fear amongst the German High Command, (and the Irish Government), that the U. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. S. Army may attempt an invasion of Ireland, following its occupation of Iceland (after the British invasion) and Greenland in 1941. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the These fears led to another German intelligence plan – Operation Osprey – but it was abandoned when the feared American invasion failed to take place. Operation Osprey ( "Unternehmen Fischadler" in German) was a plan conceived by the German Foreign Ministry and Abwehr II

The British also had a plan to attempt the reconquest of the entire Island in the eventuality of a German invasion. They had always sought to privately reassure de Valera that any invasion by their troops would be by invitation only. This scheme was titled Plan W and intricate details were worked out with the Irish government and military over how to react to a German invasion. Plan W (sometimes referred to as "the W Plan") during the Second World War, was a plan of joint military operations between Ireland and the The Irish military shared details of their defences and military capabilities with the British and troops stationed in Northern Ireland. The reassurances from the British did not altogether console de Valera however, and he was frequently suspicious, while German forces still threatened Britain, that the British may invade the territory of the State. He did not know that the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Craigavon was urging London to seize the port at Cobh, or that attempts had been made to split the consensus over the Neutrality policy. The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was the De facto head of the Government of Northern Ireland. James Craig 1st Viscount Craigavon, Bart, PC ( 8 January 1871 – 24 November 1940) was a prominent Irish unionist Cobh (pronounced /koːv/ "cove" An Cóbh is a sheltered seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Concessions such as relaxing of the claim on Lough Swilly to allow British navy and airforce patrols did go some way to easing the tension. Lough Swilly ( Loch Súilí in Irish) in Ireland is a Fjord -like body of water lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula As the war turned against Nazi Germany in their eastern campaign, and as the Abwehr became less and less effective, around 1943–1944, operations in the island of Ireland ceased to be of interest to the German Government and military and therefore the British. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Overall, during the period the focus of de Valera was maintaining Irish neutrality. The Irish authorities pursuit of an aggressive campaign of internment against the IRA, including raising the Local Security Force (LSF), executions, and aggressive action by Irish Military Intelligence (G2) meant that the activities of the German Legation in Dublin were supervised closely and attempts to infiltrate spies into the country were quickly discovered. The Irish Military Intelligence Service is often referred to as G2 or G-2.

On the occasion of the death of Adolf Hitler, de Valera paid a controversial visit to Hempel to express sympathy with the German people over the death of the Führer. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately ^[45] This action has been defended as proper given the state's neutrality. Sir John Maffey, the British Representative, commented that de Valera's actions were "unwise but mathematically consistent". ^[46] Douglas Hyde, Ireland's president, also sent condolences,^[47] an action which enraged the United States minister as no similar action had taken place on the death of the United States President, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Douglas Hyde (Dubhghlas de hÍde Pseudonym An Craoibhín Aoibhinn) (17 January 1860 &ndash 12 July 1949 was an Anglo-Irish scholar of the Irish language ^[48][49] Yet all flags in Dublin were lowered to half-mast out of respect. ^[50]

Jewish victims of the Holocaust

See also: History of the Jews in Ireland

Elements of Irish public opinion were slow to accept the nature of the Nazi regime. The history of the Jews in Ireland extends back nearly a thousand years A "Limerick Leader" editorial in 1945 noted that, "The campaign against war criminals is strangely confined to those who happen to fight on the wrong side. The Limerick Leader is a weekly local Newspaper in Limerick, Ireland. " However it continued to say that

Allied atrocities cannot excuse the monstrous barbarism of the Reich. ^[51]

According to some sources, it appears that there was official indifference from the political establishment to the Jewish victims of the holocaust during and after the war. This was despite de Valera having knowledge of the crimes committed against Jewish victims of the Holocaust as early as 1943. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as ^[52] Other sources report that de Valera was so aware in 1942 and the government sought to secure the release of Jews from then. ^[53] After the war had ended, Jewish groups had difficulty in getting refugee status for Jewish children – whilst at the same time, a plan to bring over four hundred Catholic Children from the Rhineland encountered no difficulties. ^[54] The Department of Justice explained in 1948 that:

It has always been the policy of the Minister for Justice to restrict the admission of Jewish aliens, for the reason that any substantial increase in our Jewish population might give rise to an anti-Semitic problem. ^[55]

However, de Valera over-ruled the Department of Justice and the 150 refugee Jewish children were brought to Ireland in 1948. Earlier, in 1946, 100 Jewish children from Poland were bought to Clonyn Castle in County Meath by a London Jewish charity. ^[56] In 1952 he again overruled the Department of Justice to admit five Orthodox Jewish families who were fleeing the Communists. In 1966, the Dublin Jewish community arranged the planting and dedication of the Éamon de Valera Forest in Israel, near Nazareth, in recognition of his consistent support for Ireland's Jews. Nazareth (ˈnæzərəθ (נָצְרַת Hebrew Natz'rat or Natzeret, الناصرة an-Nāṣira or an-Naseriyye) is the capital and largest ^[57]

The Emergency after the end of World War II

De Valera's reluctance to recognise a difference between World War II and previous European wars was illustrated by his reply to a radio broadcast by the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill on V-E Day. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 Victory in Europe Day ( V-E Day or VE Day) was May 7 and May 8, 1945, the dates when the World War II Allies Churchill praised Britain's restraint in not occupying Ireland in order to secure the Western Approaches during the Battle of the Atlantic:

the approaches which the southern Irish ports and airfields could so easily have guarded were closed by the hostile aircraft and U-boats. This indeed was a deadly moment in our life, and if it had not been for the loyalty and friendship of Northern Ireland, we should have been forced to come to close quarters with Mr. de Valera, or perish from the earth. However, with a restraint and poise to which, I venture to say, history will find few parallels, His Majesty’s Government never laid a violent hand upon them, though at times it would have been quite easy and quite natural, and we left the de Valera Government to frolic with the German and later with the Japanese representatives to their heart’s content. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.

De Valera replied to Churchill in another radio broadcast, which was popular in Eire:

Allowances can be made for Mr. Churchill’s statement, however unworthy, in the first flush of victory. No such excuse could be found for me in this quieter atmosphere. There are, however, some things it is essential to say. I shall try to say them as dispassionately as I can. Mr. Churchill makes it clear that, in certain circumstances, he would have violated our neutrality and that he would justify his actions by Britain’s necessity. It seems strange to me that Mr. Churchill does not see that this, if accepted, would become a moral code and that when this necessity became sufficiently great, other people’s rights were not to count… that is precisely why we had this disastrous succession of wars — World War No. 1 and World War No. 2 — and shall it be World War No. 3? Mr. Churchill is proud of Britain’s stand alone, after France had fallen and before America entered the war. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Could he not find in his heart the generosity to acknowledge that there is a small nation that stood alone not for one year or two, but for several hundred years against aggression; that endured spoliations, famine, massacres, in endless succession; that was clubbed many times into insensibility, but each time on returning to consciousness took up the fight anew; a small nation that could never be got to accept defeat and has never surrendered her soul?

After the end of the war, Hempel remained in Ireland and de Valera first resisted the return to Germany of arrested German agents, and then, at Hempel's request, the Irish Government opposed the outcome of the Nuremberg trials. The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after Documents produced by the Department of External Affairs refused to accept the concept of a war criminal and compared the Nuremberg trials to the British use of the judicial system in Ireland against Nationalists.

The returning Irish volunteers returned to indifference or even hostility. After the end of the war, United States personnel were allowed to wear their uniforms in Ireland, but not those who had served in the British forces. In addition, the Irish government cancelled the Remembrance Day march. Remembrance Day also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day (the event it commemorates or Veterans Day is a day to commemorate the Special legislation was introduced so that the 4,000 Irish soldiers who had deserted to Britain were punished more harshly for desertion on their return than those who had deserted under other circumstances. ^[58] For many years they were not recognised by the Irish Government; however, in April 1995 Taoiseach John Bruton, leader of the Fine Gael Party paid tribute to those who he said

volunteered to fight against Nazi tyranny in Europe, at least 10,000 of whom were killed while serving in British uniforms. John Gerard Bruton (Seán de Briotún born 18 May 1947 served as the ninth Taoiseach of Ireland. In recalling their bravery, we are recalling a shared experience of Irish and British people. We remember a British part of the inheritance of all who live in Ireland.

Footnotes

Sources and further information

• Duggan, John P. Herr Hempel at the German Legation in Dublin 1937 – 1945 (Irish Academic Press) 2003 ISBN 0-7165-2746-4
• Fisk, Robert In time of War: Ireland, Ulster, and the price of neutrality 1939 – 1945 (Gill & Macmillan) 1983 ISBN 0-7171-2411-8
• Gray, Tony The Lost Years - The Emergency in Ireland 1939-45 (Little, Brown & Co) 1997 ISBN 0-316-88189-9
• Girvin, Brian The Emergency: Neutral Ireland 1939–45 (Macmillan) 2006 ISBN 1-4050-0010-4
• Ó Longaigh, Seosamh Emergency Law in Independent Ireland 1922-1948 (Four Courts) 2006 ISBN 1-85182-922-9

External links

• Article on 'The Challenge Of The Irish Volunteers of World War II'
• Article on the 'Belfast Blitz'
• Largely anecdotal account related to the British position on Irish neutrality and contacts with U-Boats
• No.1 Internment camp "K-Lines" in the Curragh housed IRA, British, and German personnel

See also

• Caught in a Free State - a dramatised television series on German wartime spies in Ireland, made by RTE
• History of the Republic of Ireland
• Irish neutrality
• Irish neutrality during World War II
• Minister for Supplies
• Belfast Blitz
• Plan Kathleen
• Operation Green
• IRA Abwehr World War II - Main article on IRA Nazi links
• Ulster Defence Volunteers
• Oskar Metzke