Did the Eire-Irish add the Nazis during the Blitz?

Answer 1

The Irish Free State (as it was then known) was officially neutral in WW2 but gave discrete support to the Allies. These included things like allowing Allied ships to use Irish waters, interning German airmen and seamen but returning (or allowing to 'escape') Allied men. The Irish government did draw the line at letting the Allies use Irish ports though. Further, tens of thousands of Irishmen joined the British forces.

When Belfast was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe fire engines from south of the border were sent to help out.

I don't know what Frank H is talking about. The IRA was an enemy of the Irish Free State which, as the name implies, already had it's freedom from British rule.

Answer 2

Do you mean aid.

In which case to a degree. The Irish did remain quite Neutral during the conflict, the UK had only just given up 3 bases on the Atlantic seaboard which had been leased from the Irish and would have liked to have used them as Escort Refueling and Long Range Aircraft points, but they where refused.
The Nationalist did have some activities with the Germans during the conflict but never really activley attached themselves to the conflict, but a lot of Irish did cross the border into Ulster and across the Irish Sea to join the Allied Cause.
If they Battle of Britain had been lost and Operation Sealion had have been commenced, then I suspect that ireland would have sort some compremise with the Facists, because they would have never been able to stand up to the Germans.

Answer 3

Many Irish soldiers went AWOL to join the British forces.
Many an Irish man came over to England to rebuild what the Germans blew up the night before.
The Irish repatriated British soldiers but kept the Germans.
My dad was posted to a POW camp in Dublin somewhere.

Answer 4

Eire was neutral during WW2 like Sweden and Switzerland but in reality it gave assistance tp Britain in several ways. It interned several German spies, it allowed British convoys to pass through its territorial waters and provided a huge amount of labour for the building of aerodromes for the R.A.F. and special projects such as the Mulberry harbours for D-DAy.
Dublin suffered one air raid from the Luftwaffe by mistake.

Answer 5

Don't think so. remember the 26 counties were formed at that stage and there would have been an awful lot of Irish living in england at the time in fact there was probably more irish born people in britain at the time than there was in Ireland. and the americans were on the british side I would be suprised.

Answer 6

Ireland was neutral. Neutral countries were not supposed to take sides. For example, if a damaged ship came into a neutral port it was expected to be impounded. I've heard that some German ships were repaired and allowed to leave from Irish ports.
Some wounded German soldiers were treated in Swiss hospitals and allowed to return to Germany when they recovered.

Answer 7

Not that I know of (though they did try to ally with the Germans in WW1). However, they were the only neutral country to send condolences to Germany after Hitler killed himself - not just Taoiseach De Valera, but President Hyde also called on the German ambasador.

Answer 8

Nope; they assisted Belfast by sending 13 fire tenders from Dublin, Drogheda, Dundalk and Dún Laoghaire to fight massive fires caused by German bombing. Basil Brooke asked Éamon de Valera for assistance, and de Valera responded within two hours. Later, de Valera made a formal protest to the German government, and German bombing was subsequently confined to Belfast's docks and shipyards.

Answer 9

The Irish government of the day sent a message of condolence to Germany regretting the death of Hitler - need I say more?

Answer 10

From what I heard and I was a mere child during the 2nd WW, the Irish allowed the Germans into Ireland and helped them spy on their old enemy "the English".