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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Winston Churchill had plans to invade Ireland in Second World War --- Unionist leader believed De Valera was pro Hitler

Posted on Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 10:40 PM
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It took me me a while to get around to a remarkable book ‘Britain, Ireland and the Second World War’ written by the Scottish historian Ian S. Wood and published by Edinburgh University Press.

The book is extraordinary in its detail of how the poisoned relationship between the two countries almost led to a second British invasion during the Second World War.

Indeed Northern Prime Minister Lord Craigavon, AKA James Craig, actively encouraged such an invasion.

He wrote to Churchill in 1940 to request that Scottish Highland troops be used to install a new government in Dublin that would allow access to Irish ports for British ships.

Craigavon, a rock ribbed unionist, believed that Eamon De Valera, the Irish prime minister, had fallen under Nazi sway and a new invasion was needed.

“To meet the susceptibilities of the south the British forces might best be composed chiefly of Scottish and Welsh divisions,” he wrote in a memorandum to Churchill.

“A military governor should be then be appointed for the whole of Ireland with his HQ in Dublin.”

The British government indeed drew up such plans.

Field Marshal Montgomery noted in his memoirs: “I was told to prepare plans for the seizure of Cork and Queenstown in southern Ireland so the harbours could be used as naval bases.”

The book draws on previously classified files, obtained at the UK National Archives in London and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast.

Wood says a new British invasion would have backfired and resulted in a bitter war.

“British forces could have taken control with very little difficulty, but it would have an absolute gift to the IRA who would have launched waves after wave of guerrilla attacks,” he said. “Occupying Eire would have been an extremely messy and costly undertaking.”

Dr Eamon Phoenix, a political historian at Queen’s University, Belfast, also stated that it would have backfired.

“Many of the Black and Tans, the British auxiliaries sent to suppress Irish independence, were Scots and they had an appalling reputation,” he said.

Of course it has already been revealed that wily old Churchill offered De Valera a United Ireland if Ireland entered the war.

De Valera refused believing it would have created another civil war.

Who knows what might have happened in either scenario?

It certainly makes for fascinating reading.


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42 Comments

15 - 42 | See all comments

DanOLoingsigh | Oct 18, 2011, 02:15 AM EDT
Churchill's attitide to de Valera should not be confused with his attitude to Ireland. Nor should he be compared with some of the nonentities below.

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kilgara | Oct 18, 2011, 12:04 AM EDT
Churchill was an Irish-hating racist on that side of the pond similar to Thomas Nast, Samuel F.B. Morse, Woodrow Wilson and innumerable others on this side.It's a tired old story but one that needs to be remembered.

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sirpeter | Oct 17, 2011, 01:22 PM EDT
@Tommy Swine. My good Sir!! I did not respond to your trifling post as it's contents were exactly that,trifling.I do ware my title(lower case and all)proudly as Her Majesty's Royal Overseer of Mr.Tommy Cessford and Mr.Bilgegate.When I read the somewhat lightweight scribblings and the petty schoolboy smugness between your good self and Mr.Bilgegate.I felt I had to intervene on Her Majesty's behalf.When you compare the much more balanced and intelligent comments of the right honorable gentleman Mr.Kinvara7 and others in comparison to yours and Mr.Bilgegate.I do despair.I do feel as West Brits on this Isle ye are a poor embarrassers (opps!!typo)ambassadors to Queen and Country.Her Majesty has expressed in the harshest terms her wish to make yourself and Mr.Bilgegate even more West British by which she means new residents of the Falkland Islands.

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seagreen | Oct 17, 2011, 12:11 PM EDT
Tom Swinford..... I wish I could take someone to task in your literate manner :-(

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ancavker | Oct 17, 2011, 10:17 AM EDT
Niall: This is old news regarding Churchill's plan to invade the south. He was warned repeatedly by FDR not to do it.

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antoman | Oct 17, 2011, 09:19 AM EDT
I've said it on this site before and I will say it again. My Gran-uncle on my mothers side left Cork and joined the RAF in WW2. He went there so that he would have a few bob in his pocket. His bomber was shot down over Germany and he was killed. He was just one of 100,000 Irish who left Ireland to fight with the allies. I wonder how he would have reacted if while he was over there the British were here reducing our cities and towns to rubble and slaying people by the bushel. Its a good job I suppose Churchill did'nt invade Ireland or I might not exist and you would not be reading my words. Peace.

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kinvara7 | Oct 17, 2011, 09:19 AM EDT
Realist: your two posts try to set out and argue that Ireland was pro-Axis. What proof do you advance to support that? Well you allege that a student threw a stone at the American Consulate General. Can you not see how ridiculous your position is? Look at all the details I have set out detailing the support that Ireland gave the Allies. Perhaps if the statesmen of other nations took the principled approach that de Valera took in the 1930s and stood up to fascist Italy rather than appeasing it, maybe a precedent would have been set. However, that did not occur. Churchill said that: "It would be a dangerous folly for the British people to underrate the enduring position in world history which Mussolini will hold; or the amazing qualities of courage, comprehension, self-control and perseverance which he exemplifies." Sadly, many of the citizens of these other nations know nothing of Ireland’s efforts during this period (indeed the only bits they know are the bits that support the conclusion they want). I have responded to your post regarding the US State Department’s correspondence; please read it and note the conclusions of the OSS representatives.

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kinvara7 | Oct 17, 2011, 09:18 AM EDT
Realist: as regards the US State Department correspondence, you are either being selective or you are not fully informed. They made that note public on the 10th of March 1944 however it had been conveyed to de Valera much earlier. For the next two weeks the American press portrayed Ireland as being infested with Axis spies (that despite the success of the Irish authorities in capturing German spies during the war). There was a great deal of hypocrisy at this time regarding Ireland’s neutrality, considering the fact that America had tried to stay out of the war. These sensational and inaccurate press reports would cause lasting damage. In response to the note, the Taoiseach reminded Gray (the American representative) that the Irish secret service was working closely with British Intelligence. The Taoiseach stated that he would not do away with the Axis diplomatic missions, but he would take any measures suggested to eliminate any possible espionage. Indeed in this regard the Irish government seized and stored the wireless transmitter of the German embassy. The British representative informed Churchill that as regards caging the Axis representatives the Irish government ‘will go to any lengths’. Indeed Gray was critisised for his misrepresentation of Irish neutrality in the note; Gray’s behaviour during this period is questionable. OSS officials who visited Ireland in 1943 had expressed satisfaction with the security situation. Edward Lawler (who took over the OSS liaison with the Irish on intelligence matters) stated that: ‘I can truthfully say that we received 100% cooperation from the Irish Authorities,’ he explained years later ‘the cooperation and information that we received from the Irish was every bit as extensive and helpful as it would have been if Ireland had been a full partner in the war effort.’

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kinvara7 | Oct 17, 2011, 06:20 AM EDT
@warrenpoint00: considering your reference to ‘these long boring post... ‘ [sic] we may surmise that you don’t like reading, and it shows. Sometimes the truth is boring and long, I understand some people find that difficult.

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Kilsally | Oct 17, 2011, 05:56 AM EDT
any `invasion` would have been solely strategic for the USA / UK war efforts over the atlantic - the ports would have been very useful and strategic but the Ulster ports sufficed especially with the dockyards in Belfast. Allied aircraft negelcted Irish airspace and just flew straight over Donegal to RAF bases in Northern Ireland.

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Sparklet | Oct 17, 2011, 04:12 AM EDT
Churchill was kept in the dark about all the help Dev was giving the allies then?

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cillowen | Oct 16, 2011, 10:45 PM EDT
Dev's service to the Saxon Motherland needs a better explanation than that written by this Jock scotty fellow and voiced by some of his NI ilk. Surely Dev, one highly regarded by tribe members was proudly brought to my attention - far removed from ol erin - that he was one of them - this Converso Cuban and Co Clare momma fellow would go to bat for those of his own stripe. The painting of him, a Hitler lover takes the cake. I believe Dev was England's Greatest Spy and the account given here is but rubbish. The Irish neutrality that served Britain so, was a brilliant hatched move between the troika of DeValera, Churchill and FDR. I also believe Dev set up Michael Collins for the kill and helped trigger the Civil War that had brother fighting brother. Dev's overall primary concern was in securing a homeland for his tribe. He being a lover of Hitler is complete bullcrap - a real bottom of the barrel reach. During WWII footstuff of all kind was flowing to the Saxon occupier as were manpower from every county in ol Erin ferrying back and forth to help the Mother. The natives later would honor near blind Dev with the presidency - the same as they intend doing with Dev's party newcomer Gallagher. Have a great time trying to explain why such benefits accrued to the benevolent Saxons crowd in their time of need. The beat goes on even today -the love and appreciation of knightings bestowed makes em go gaga.

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cillowen | Oct 16, 2011, 09:44 PM EDT
Sir Peter, how kind of you to respond to my trifling post. You are too kind. Yet, I cannot refrain from tendering a concern: My dear boy, you must wear your title proudly. While your regrettable inability to engage in reasoned debate is most troubling, this should not be the cause for the diminutive form of your worthy name and title. You are Sir Peter, Her Majesty's Royal Overseer of Cesspool and Bilgewater. We West Brits must stand together, lad - and know what we stand for: God, Queen, Commonwealth and Country, the unbeaten warriors of a lost empire, the great carriers of civilization to lesser peoples. When you present your honored title in lower case, as 'sirpeter,' you convey an excess of humility which may be perceived as weakness by the natives, and taken advantage of. Worse, it could suggest certain deficiencies in lower quarters too, if you follow my meaning. Sadly, it appears that once again, you are off your meds and back on the booze. This is indeed regrettable and it may be necessary for the club to employ the services of our agent provocateur, George Dillon, whom we've engaged before with, alas, mixed results. Nevertheless. Now then, no more of this 'sirpeter' nonsense, old boy. Now, there's a good lad.

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warrenpoint00 | Oct 16, 2011, 09:43 PM EDT
Looking at these long boring post...looks like the free state subjects have nothing else to do with their time, not surprisingly, with the melt down in their forever broken down free state.

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Rebelforce | Oct 16, 2011, 07:22 PM EDT
Churchill actually had plans to invade and occupy Norway in 1940, but the Germans found out about the invasion and invaded Norway themselves. As far as Ireland, if the British had thought they could get away with successfully invading and occupying the Irish Free State they certainly would have done it. They correctly calculated that such a blatant act of aggression would have an extremely negative effect on critical US public opinion where Irish-Americans were a particularly numerous and influential presence. The fact that any military invasion of Ireland would also necessitate a large army of occupation and probably spark a bloody guerilla war makes the entire idea of an invasion highly impractical. Ofcourse, if the Germans had tried an invasion of Ireland (most unlikely) the British undoubtedly had military plans at the ready to quickly meet that kind of security threat.

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