the emergency neutral ireland 1939 - 1945 to war : Irish Volunteers in
By Professor Brian Girvin
German troops invade Poland
I recently came across a book called ' The Emergency ' Neutral Ireland 1939-1945, and read it with great interest. The horrific confict of World War 2 was known in Free State Ireland as ' The Emergency ' and like Switzerland, Ireland remained neutral throughout the war. There are many books which have been written about the thousands of Irish Volunteers who joined the British Army during World War 1, but not many that go to describe why so many Irishmen joined the British Army during World War 2, even though Ireland remained neutral. It is a subject that is controversial and complicated. Having read the above mentioned book i wrote to the Publishers, and asked if i could possibly use a chapter for my website. To be honest i did not expect a reply. I was amazed when Professor Brian Girvin actually wrote to me stating that he had viewed the website and also granted me permission to use the chapter ' To War : Irish Volunteers in the British Armed Forces. ' In the course of his work Professor Girvin has interviewed over 50 Irish men and women who saw service with the British Army.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Brian for giving me permission to use his work. I am truly in his debt for allowing such a request and also for taking the time to write to me personally. Thank you Brian. I would also like sincerely thank Michelle from Felicity Bryan Ltd, for forwarding my request to Professor Girvin, and for taking the time during a hectic schedule to talk to me on the telephone. My sincere thanks to you both.
In late April 1995, almost fifty years after the end of the Second World War, Taoiseach John Bruton made an emotional speech at the Irish National Memorial Park at Islandbridge in Dublin in which he paid tribute to the 150,000 Irish people who had ' volunteered to fight against Nazi tyranny in Europe, at least 10,000 of whom were killed while serving in British uniforms. ' This ceremony was the most public acknowledgement of the contribution that Irish volunteers had made to the Allied Victory. Bruton's speech was all the more remarkable as it was made in the presence of Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionist party, as well as the parties represented in the Dail. It is highly unlikely that such a ceremony would have taken place a decade earlier and it reflected a growing acknowledgement of the need to recognise different traditions on the island of Ireland as well as the links with Britain. Bruton's brave contribution also drew attention to a little-known aspect of Irish involvement in the Second World War. It remains a controversial one, though it is now possible to provide a more measured assessment than in the past; for much of the post-war period the Irish state and popular nationalist opinion ignored the contribution of the volunteers or even questioned the motives of those who left Ireland to fight.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Brian for giving me permission to use his work. I am truly in his debt for allowing such a request and also for taking the time to write to me personally. Thank you Brian. I would also like sincerely thank Michelle from Felicity Bryan Ltd, for forwarding my request to Professor Girvin, and for taking the time during a hectic schedule to talk to me on the telephone. My sincere thanks to you both.
In late April 1995, almost fifty years after the end of the Second World War, Taoiseach John Bruton made an emotional speech at the Irish National Memorial Park at Islandbridge in Dublin in which he paid tribute to the 150,000 Irish people who had ' volunteered to fight against Nazi tyranny in Europe, at least 10,000 of whom were killed while serving in British uniforms. ' This ceremony was the most public acknowledgement of the contribution that Irish volunteers had made to the Allied Victory. Bruton's speech was all the more remarkable as it was made in the presence of Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionist party, as well as the parties represented in the Dail. It is highly unlikely that such a ceremony would have taken place a decade earlier and it reflected a growing acknowledgement of the need to recognise different traditions on the island of Ireland as well as the links with Britain. Bruton's brave contribution also drew attention to a little-known aspect of Irish involvement in the Second World War. It remains a controversial one, though it is now possible to provide a more measured assessment than in the past; for much of the post-war period the Irish state and popular nationalist opinion ignored the contribution of the volunteers or even questioned the motives of those who left Ireland to fight.
The National War Memorial Pak Dublin
As Bruton implied, all those from the sland of reland who joined the British armed forces during the war were volunteers. eryone from Eire was of course a volunteer as the country was neutral and each individual had to take a conscious decision to leave his or her home and join up. The situation in Northern Ireland was complex. Unlke in Britain, conscription was not introduced in Northern Ireland, due to political opposition from de Valera and Irish nationalists. However, there was considerable sympathy and empathy for the British among the majority Unionist population and surprisingly also among sections of the Catholic ( if not republican ) community. Nevertheless, in all cases those who joined the armed forces between 1939 and 1945 were volunteers.
In his speech Bruton took it for granted that the figures for those who volunteered and those who died were accurate, but there is some doubt about this. One reason is that for the duration of the war and for a long time after highly inflated figures were circulated for propaganda reasons by the Irish Government and its supporters in many parts of the world. It was in the interests of the Irish Government to enhance the numbers who volunteered from Eire and deflate those who had come from Northern Ireland. Implied though never never overtly stated was the suggestion that despite Irish neutrality Eire had made a major contribution to the Allied war effort and therefore should not be disadvantaged because of its neutrality. The counter argument, usually developed by Ulster Unionists, was either that the figures for Eire were inflated or that joining the British forces was due to poverty and starvation in Eire. The British Government was also reluctant to engage in public debate on the issue for diplomatic and other reasons.
When Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies arrived in Belfast in April 1941 he was surprised to hear that recruitment in Northern Ireland was slow and that numbers were only kept up by the flow of recruits from Eire. Menzies was given figures that suggested approximately 650 men a month were joining from the south, which if true would be about 8,000 in a year. On the basis of incomplete information, G2 Irish intelligence concluded in late 1943 and early 1944 that some 200 Irish citizens were being recruited into just the RAF every week. If this rate is stable, then a yearly figure of 10,000 is not out of the question. G2 estimated after the war had ended that recruitment into the RAF was continuing apace and by November 1945 a figure of 1,000 per week travelling to Belfast was considered realistic. More alarming from the point of view of the Eire authorities was evidence of large -scale desertion from the Irish Army during the Emergency. It was estimated that some 4,800 members of the Irish
armed forces deserted, most of whom then joined the British.
In his speech Bruton took it for granted that the figures for those who volunteered and those who died were accurate, but there is some doubt about this. One reason is that for the duration of the war and for a long time after highly inflated figures were circulated for propaganda reasons by the Irish Government and its supporters in many parts of the world. It was in the interests of the Irish Government to enhance the numbers who volunteered from Eire and deflate those who had come from Northern Ireland. Implied though never never overtly stated was the suggestion that despite Irish neutrality Eire had made a major contribution to the Allied war effort and therefore should not be disadvantaged because of its neutrality. The counter argument, usually developed by Ulster Unionists, was either that the figures for Eire were inflated or that joining the British forces was due to poverty and starvation in Eire. The British Government was also reluctant to engage in public debate on the issue for diplomatic and other reasons.
When Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies arrived in Belfast in April 1941 he was surprised to hear that recruitment in Northern Ireland was slow and that numbers were only kept up by the flow of recruits from Eire. Menzies was given figures that suggested approximately 650 men a month were joining from the south, which if true would be about 8,000 in a year. On the basis of incomplete information, G2 Irish intelligence concluded in late 1943 and early 1944 that some 200 Irish citizens were being recruited into just the RAF every week. If this rate is stable, then a yearly figure of 10,000 is not out of the question. G2 estimated after the war had ended that recruitment into the RAF was continuing apace and by November 1945 a figure of 1,000 per week travelling to Belfast was considered realistic. More alarming from the point of view of the Eire authorities was evidence of large -scale desertion from the Irish Army during the Emergency. It was estimated that some 4,800 members of the Irish
armed forces deserted, most of whom then joined the British.
Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies
What this all suggests is that a large number of Irish citizens for one reason or another took it upon themselves to travel to the border, allowed themselves to be harassed by the RUC and then went to Belfast to join one or other arm of the British armed forces. In a 1946 letter to ' The Times ' General Hubert Gough insisted that he had reliable information that by the middle of 1944 the official British next of kin list included 165, 000 addresses in Eire. This is a figure often cited, and just as frequently dismissed, though it should not be immediately discarded as Gough though a friend of Ireland was a lifelong Unionist. British officials around the same time were dismissive of what were thought to be inflated claims regarding the number of Irish volunteers, though the Dominions Office may have come close to the truth when it commented that it had got to the stage when ' all Irishmen, whatever their views as to Eire's neutrality, find it impossible to believe that Eire's contribution to the Armed Forces was not on a scale which the slightest reflection would show to be incredible. ' Perceptions that the numbers were enormous were widespread and seemed to have emerged quite early in the war. Someone as level headed as Sean Lemass told one British visitor in 1943 that there were 100,000 Irish men in the British armed forces and a further 150,000 in civilian work. Lemass's concern was with possible social and economic disruption at the end of the war when large numbers of Irish nationals returned to look for work.
