On which side did Ireland fight during World War 2?

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Neither side. Ireland under Prime Minister DeValera was studiously neutral. He tried to talk to Churchill et al to see what could be done by the British to alleviate maltreatment of the nationalists in Northern Ireland, without success. So called Northern Ireland was, and is, about one fifth of the island, and was, and is, ruled by the British.

Because of high unemployment, many Irish went to Britain and worked there, and some joined the British forces in the war. None went to Germany. Some British air force people accidentally landed in what was then the Free State, now the Republic, and were simply allowed to cross the border into Northern Ireland, and thus to rejoin their British colleagues.

A very few German airmen likewise landed in the Free State. There was no way for them to return to Germany, so they were put up (possibly at German expense) and allowed out to go to college - three were in my Politics class at the university in Dublin. During lectures on Nazism and its false racial beliefs, they walked out, but returned for subsequent lectures, including lectures on the defects of communism.

It would be interesting to hear what happened them later. I have no idea. Does anyone here?

Germac

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neither side, The official line of which the Irish government took was the decision to remain neutral towards the second world war, through many Irish men went to England to fight for the British crown to which many still felt loyal and many never returned..

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Despite a public display of strict neutrality, Irish neutrality was of great benefit to the Allied cause. As Irish policy developed during the war, one can see instances in which De Valera showed what he euphemistically described as a �certain consideration for Britain.�

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Ireland was neutral. However, they did have camps for both the British and German soldiers who were captured in the country. The camps were separate, however, the prisoners were allowed to go to the pubs in town on the weekends.

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The Irish actually fought on both sides of the war with many battalions in the English army and also some in the German army reasons being " sure if there against the English we are with them " a popular thought process among Irish people and the time and even some Irish people now.

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Yeah, we did tend to go over towards the allied side a bit, especially when people in the British camps "escaped" into Northern Ireland, a lot of people reckoned that on the few occasions when Ireland got bombed it was a warning not to get too friendly towards the allies, but Eamonn de Valera was one of the only world leaders to sign Hitlers book of condolences.

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In ww1 Ireland was under English rule so they fought against the Germans.But by ww2 the republic had broken free of English rule and decided to stay neutral.

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During the Second World War, Ireland remained neutral, which was the policy the government followed at the overwhelming wish of the Irish citizens.

However, at least 200,000 Irish men and women served in the Allied Forces against the Axis Powers.

Robert Mullally states above that "The Irish actually fought on both sides of the war with many battalions in the English army and also some in the German army reasons being "sure if there against the English we are with them" a popular thought process among irish people and the time and even some Irish people now.

This is entirely incorrect! Very few, if any, Irish men or women served with the Axis powers; the only Irish people who did work with the Nazis were the I.R.A., who wished to use the Nazis to overthrow the Free State Government and unite Ireland under republican rule. That they would themselves be puppets of the Nazis was something they had not thought about.

His statement concerning Irish Battalions fighting for the U.K. is also misleading; there were Irish regiments with Irish names, but they were all based in the U.K., and thus British. Ireland did not send any battalions to fight in WWII, let alone under British leadership. We did, however, give the Allied forces a great deal of aid in ways that are still not widely acknowledged (particularly crucial was the aid given in the run-up to D-Day, which led to it being staged on the 6th June 1944 rather than the 5th June).

The Irish government at the time was not only worried by the prospect of an invasion by the Nazis, but also by the U.K. and the U.S.A., both of whom were stationed in Northern Ireland and who never robustly dismissed the idea of invading the Irish Free State to suborn its ports for Allied use. This was an idea much in vogue with both F.D.R. and Churchill, and remained an implicit threat as late as Spring 1944. It must be remembered that a scant twenty years had passed since the Irish had forced the British out; the British still had an Empire, and would not have being in the least adverse to regaining lost ground.

Despite this - or indeed perhaps because of it! - the Irish firmly endorsed the principles of democracy in opposition to the sordid ideals of Nazi Germany. It must also be remembered that the Irish Free State was the only country in Europe to successfully beat a fascist coup d'etat in the 1930's.

As in the past, Ireland's unenviable position was that of a small nation caught in the drama of larger powers, none of whom had the interests of the Irish at heart. Thus we had to look after ourselves because - as our history had shown - no one else would.

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Ireland's neutral position was both simple and complex.

Simple because it was deeply divided on its relationship to the Allies and to Britain in particular and also, in defence resources terms, it would have been a defenceless liability.

Complex because it was dependant upon the Allies for supplies (brought through the German u-boat blockade), remained a member of the British Commonwealth (with the King as Head of State - the republic came post-war), allowed its citizens to fight with Allied forces and work in war industries, and gave other assistance to Allied forces while censoring what war news could be published, protesting against US troops in Northern Ireland (and thus irritating its former political allies in the US) and regarding itself as a part of a neutral and Catholic European bloc (which included the fascist dictatorships in Spain, Portugal and Italy (until 1940) and the proto-fascist Vichy regime in France).

The concentration camp issue was downplayed and Dev's condolences on Hitler's death remain a political curiosity.

All that said, however, the official and popular Irish position was on balance sympathetic to the Allies. Irish isolation worked to turn Ireland in on itself and it became both "morally" and "spiritually" superior (in the eyes of some), but isolation also became a common hardship that helped to reinforce an Irish identity and heal the wounds of the civil war.

Have a look at "That Neutral Island" by Clair Wills, for much more detail.

First answer by donal murray. Last edit by Folks at 137. Contributor trust: 0 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 187 [recommend question]