|
Ireland
|
Main article: The Emergency (Ireland)
Ireland remained neutral throughout the war, the only member of the British Commonwealth to do so. The Emergency Powers Act 1939 gave sweeping new powers to the government for the duration, including internment, censorship, and government control of the economy.
Irish citizens were free to work abroad and join foreign militaries. By the end of the war, figures suggest that 50,000 men and women born in the State served in the British armed forces,[54] although this estimate has risen considerably over the years.[55]
Internment of both Axis and Allied military took place in separate sections of the same camp. No.1 Internment camp, built by the British pre-1922, held republicans who had a suspected link to the I.R.A.[56]
In June 1940 British Major General Bernard Montgomery was tasked to make plans to invade Ireland in order to seize[57] Cork and Cobh. Winston Churchill also made plans to invade to take the three former Treaty Ports.[58]
One Irishman, Brendan Finucane, the youngest Wing Commander and fighter ace in the RAF's history,[59] before the age of 22 achieved one of the highest kill rates in the Battle of Britain and in offensive operations over France.[60]
A total of roughly forty Irish people were killed in the Bombing of Dublin in World War II and County Carlow in apparently-accidental bombings by the Luftwaffe.[61] The bombings have been cited as the result of either deliberate attacks, errors in navigation or British electronic countermeasures against the Luftwaffe.
The decision to go ahead with the D-day landings was decided by an Atlantic ocean weather report from Blacksod Bay, County Mayo Ireland.[62]
Ireland remained neutral throughout the war, the only member of the British Commonwealth to do so. The Emergency Powers Act 1939 gave sweeping new powers to the government for the duration, including internment, censorship, and government control of the economy.
Irish citizens were free to work abroad and join foreign militaries. By the end of the war, figures suggest that 50,000 men and women born in the State served in the British armed forces,[54] although this estimate has risen considerably over the years.[55]
Internment of both Axis and Allied military took place in separate sections of the same camp. No.1 Internment camp, built by the British pre-1922, held republicans who had a suspected link to the I.R.A.[56]
In June 1940 British Major General Bernard Montgomery was tasked to make plans to invade Ireland in order to seize[57] Cork and Cobh. Winston Churchill also made plans to invade to take the three former Treaty Ports.[58]
One Irishman, Brendan Finucane, the youngest Wing Commander and fighter ace in the RAF's history,[59] before the age of 22 achieved one of the highest kill rates in the Battle of Britain and in offensive operations over France.[60]
A total of roughly forty Irish people were killed in the Bombing of Dublin in World War II and County Carlow in apparently-accidental bombings by the Luftwaffe.[61] The bombings have been cited as the result of either deliberate attacks, errors in navigation or British electronic countermeasures against the Luftwaffe.
The decision to go ahead with the D-day landings was decided by an Atlantic ocean weather report from Blacksod Bay, County Mayo Ireland.[62]