Eire's Neutrality

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1. Attempts to Persuade Eire to Enter the War
   1. Attempt One (June 1940)
      1. The British tried to persuade Eire to join them in a defensive agreement in June 1940.
      2. The British proposed to agree to an United Ireland 'at an early date' and provide equipment for the Irish Army if Eire allowed British troops and planes to be stationed at certain places in Eire and allowed British ships access to ports in Eire.
         1. When Craigavon heard about this offer, he was outraged!
   2. Attempt Two (December 1941)
      1. Since America joined the war (after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour) andwere now fighting with Britain , Churchill thought it would be a good idea to invite Eire , saying in a telegram, "Now or Never "A Nation once Again"". Again Churchill was offering an United Ireland if Eire joined.
         1. Again de Valera refused.
   3. Attempt Three (1942)
      1. The Battle of the Atlantic was at its peak in mid-1941. German U-Boats sank allied Merchant ships trying to make their way across the Atlantic.
      2. De Valera refused to return the Treaty Ports after Churchill asked to use them so that they could be used as bases for the Royal Navy's Escort Ships.
2. Benevolent Neutrality
   1. 1. The Donegal Air Corridor. Eire broke the rules of Neutrality by allowing the RAF (and later the US Air Force) by allowing them to fly over the south part of Donegal after a secret deal with the British in January 1941. This meant that the RAF didn't have to fly around Donegal.
   2. 2. Help during the Belfast Blitz. De Valera sent 13 Fire engines and 71 firemen to Belfast after the Blitz Raids (April-May 1941). He also formally protested to Germany about the heavy loss of life from the Belfast Blitz (people he saw as Irish).
   3. 3. Allied Airmen allowed to escape, When a country is Neutral, it's meant to imprison any soldiers from countries involved in the war who land on their soil or sea. Eire broke the rules of Neutrality by allowing Allied soldiers to 'escape' to their home country while German soldiers were imprisoned.
   4. 4. Secret Radar Bases. In February 1945 de Valera gave permission to Britain to build secret RADAR bases in Eire.
   5. 5. Irish Citizens joining the British Armed Forces. Even though Eire was Neutral, 43,000 people from Eire joined the British Armed Forces. This included 5,000 who left the Irish Army to join the British Army.
3. Examples of how de Valera operated a policy of STRICT neutrality
   1. 1 .Dealing with the IRA. De Valera was concerned about the IRA damaging Eire's Neutrality (while also considering that the IRA were getting help from Germany), so de Valera arrested and interned suspected IRA members in Eire. 6 IRA men were executed and another 3 allowed to die while on hunger strike. In result, IRA violence stopped by 1943.
   2. 2. Allies not allowed to use Ports and Airfields in Eire. De Valera didn't allow the Allies to use their ports or airfields in Eire. He also wouldn't allow British Troops on Eire soil.
   3. 3. Refusal to close the offices of the German and Japanese Ambassadors in Dublin. De Valera refused to close these offices down after the request of the British and Americans. The allies argued that they were bases for spies.
   4. 4. The Sympathy Visit. De Valera paid a visit to the German Ambassador in Dublin to offer his condolences to the recent death of Hitler (April 1945). The British and Americans were outraged over this but de Valera defended himself saying that he was being even-handed because two weeks earlier he paid a visit to the American Ambassador to offer his condolences on the death of President Roosevelt.
   5. 5. Censorship of the Press. Strict censorship meant that the Irish press couldn't publish any public expression of opinion which might have favoured one side or the other e..g. a Bishop's Letter to his parishioners was amended because he wrote some anti-German comments in it.
4. How Northern Ireland and the Allies Responded to Eire's Neutrality
   1. Northern Ireland's Attitude to Eire's Neutrality. Sir Basil Brooke and Unionists in NI were disgusted by Eire's decision to stay Neutral. It seemed to be breaking relations between Eire and NI, until de Valera sent Fire Engines up to Belfast after the Blitz. But since de Valera refused to close the German Embassy in Dublin, the NI Govt. viewed Eire with suspicion and saw it as a base for German Spies gaining information from southerners working in NI.
   2. The British Attitude to Eire's Neutrality. The British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill and many military commanders were annoyed and frustrated with Eire not joining the War after desperate bribes and offers. However many members of the British Government understood de Valera's position and saw that Eire's policy of benevolent neutrality favouring the Allies was still useful in the war effort.
   3. What the USA Thought about Irish Neutrality. President Roosevelt said that he saw Eire's Neutrality 'as a serious impediment to the war effort'. In January 1941, American troops landed in NI and de Valera protested against this to the US Embassy in Dublin. The US Ambassador in Dublin, David Gray, pointed out that de Valera didn't protest to the German Ambassador after the Blitz, which killed hundreds of people that de Valera considered Irish. Gray was very critical of Eire's neutrality ad of de Valera personally.