Was Ireland neutral?

Discussion in 'NW Europe' started by trumpetplayer992, Mar 3, 2006.

  1. ww2ni

    ww2ni Senior Member

    Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery, from Moville, Co Donegal. - Probably a good example of someone from Eire who served.

    George Montgomery is named on the War Memorial in Dungannon, Co Tyrone.
    He had emigrated to the U.S. but joined the U.S. Army in January 1941 giving his place of birth as the Irish Free State. - He was killed in the Pacific.

    When Belfast was blitzed the Fire Service from Drogheda also came north to help fight the fires.

    The Donegal Corridor to help Coastal Command cover the Atlantic.

    I suspect there were a very large number of both men and women from Eire who took part in WW2 - At the time many members of the Irish Defence Forces left to join the British Army and were treated as deserters - There was a campaign not too long ago to have this stopped.

    Although the Official Government Policy was Neutrality this was not as strict as it could have been and many of those from Eire can hold their heads high for being directly involved in winning the war.
     
  2. Mike_F

    Mike_F Member

    Ramiles.. loved your line "the US persuaded the IFS" :) Money talks I guess...
     
  3. jetson

    jetson Junior Member

    My grandmother in Rutland whose sons were all away in the forces and thus had a couple of spare bedrooms had Irish workers billeted on her during the war; very amiable chaps earning good money on airfield construction. I recall our next door neighbour also had three lodging with her. Still in my mind from all those years ago, is the image of the exotic Hudson Terraplane car of mid thirties vintage which one of them owned. As he conveyed his mates to and from their work, I suppose he was allowed a petrol allowance for this period gas guzzler.
     
  4. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    He would probably have been entitled to petrol to convey essential war workers and their tools. 133 airfields were constructed between 1942 and 1944 for the USA Army and about 56 million square feet of warehousing. Look how long it took to build Terminal 5 and the fuss about the extra runway at Heathrow/Gatwick.
     
  5. Mike_F

    Mike_F Member

    It's somewhat understandable that people link the Irish with construction work.
    However looking beyond the usual stereo-typing of "Mick with his shovel" there were many Irish (Eire/Irish Free State) men and women who did their bit where the muck and bullets were flying.

    All memories of family members who were linked with WWII are special.. Maybe there is a need for a "non-combatant" message thread.
     
  6. Mike_F

    Mike_F Member

    Mick with his shovel!!!
    My dad would have been referred to as "Mike with the PIAT".. :):):)
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2022
  7. Mike_F

    Mike_F Member

    My late dad, like many other Irish people, decided to join the British army.. and when I asked him why he never gave a straight answer.
    But the main one was to escape the poverty his family lived in.
    He was from rural Tipperary. Limited schooling as his family were Protestants.
    He somehow got to the border between NI and Irish Free State (which I'm sure someone will correct) and he slipped over the border one dark night.
    When asked which regiment he wanted to join he had no idea so the recruiter said "join our lot"..
    So he ended up as either a KOYLI or a Green Howard... He was a GH for most of the war.

    Like many others it was a few years after the war ended before he could go home and visit his family.. Why? Because he had joined the Irish Army a few months/years earlier and like many others was classed as a deserter.. Something which haunted my dad in his last few years.

    Was Ireland "neutral" during WW2.. Most of it's people were not... It's Government was..
     
    Slipdigit, Owen and dbf like this.

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