Home History 6 Efforts to “break the backbone” of Irish neutrality, January 1942 to December 1943
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

6 Efforts to “break the backbone” of Irish neutrality, January 1942 to December 1943

View more publications by Manchester University Press
To Publisher Page
Friends and enemies
This chapter is in the book Friends and enemies

Abstract

Chapter 6 covers the steady deterioration of Ireland’s relationships with the Anglo-American allies, following the heightened pressures exerted by Anglo-American diplomats on de Valera’s government to curtail the activities of German diplomats and operatives in Ireland. During this stage of the war, U.S. troops occupied the Northern Ireland bases that the Americans had previously constructed for the British. According to de Valera’s government, the presence of the American military violated Irish sovereignty, as de Valera had always disputed the “legality” of Ireland’s partition and rejected Britain’s colonial occupation of the six northern counties. But with American troops in Ulster, Ireland’s military significance as a possible staging ground for a German invasion of Britain decreased. Nonetheless, several issues kept Gray, de Valera, Walshe, and Aiken at odds throughout this period. In ongoing attempts to expose the Irish government’s “pro-German” biases, Gray and Sir John Maffey together exerted pressure on de Valera’s government to end all German Legation radio transmissions from Dublin and to crack down on circulation of German and Italian propaganda bulletins in Dublin. By mid-1943, the Western Allies finally began to make military progress toward defeating the Axis Powers in North Africa and forced the surrender of the fascist government in Italy in September. In November, the Anglo-American leaders met with Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin for the first wartime summit of the “Big Three” Allied powers in Teheran. Together the leaders determined plans for the critical joint spring 1944 military campaign to recapture German-occupied territory in Western Europe.

Abstract

Chapter 6 covers the steady deterioration of Ireland’s relationships with the Anglo-American allies, following the heightened pressures exerted by Anglo-American diplomats on de Valera’s government to curtail the activities of German diplomats and operatives in Ireland. During this stage of the war, U.S. troops occupied the Northern Ireland bases that the Americans had previously constructed for the British. According to de Valera’s government, the presence of the American military violated Irish sovereignty, as de Valera had always disputed the “legality” of Ireland’s partition and rejected Britain’s colonial occupation of the six northern counties. But with American troops in Ulster, Ireland’s military significance as a possible staging ground for a German invasion of Britain decreased. Nonetheless, several issues kept Gray, de Valera, Walshe, and Aiken at odds throughout this period. In ongoing attempts to expose the Irish government’s “pro-German” biases, Gray and Sir John Maffey together exerted pressure on de Valera’s government to end all German Legation radio transmissions from Dublin and to crack down on circulation of German and Italian propaganda bulletins in Dublin. By mid-1943, the Western Allies finally began to make military progress toward defeating the Axis Powers in North Africa and forced the surrender of the fascist government in Italy in September. In November, the Anglo-American leaders met with Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin for the first wartime summit of the “Big Three” Allied powers in Teheran. Together the leaders determined plans for the critical joint spring 1944 military campaign to recapture German-occupied territory in Western Europe.

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Dedication v
  3. Contents vii
  4. List of figures viii
  5. Acknowledgments x
  6. Map of Eire during the Emergency xi
  7. Introduction 1
  8. 1 Agreements made, pledges broken 21
  9. 2 Neutral states in a world at war, September 1939 to May 1940 43
  10. 3 “Unstoppable” Germany, “unbeatable” Britain, June to December 1940 81
  11. 4 In pursuit of America’s friendship, January to June 1941 109
  12. 5 British friend, Irish foe, July to December 1941 140
  13. 6 Efforts to “break the backbone” of Irish neutrality, January 1942 to December 1943 168
  14. 7 Eire, neutral to the bitter end, January 1944 to June 1945 198
  15. Conclusion 222
  16. Bibliography 237
  17. Index 246
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526157300.00013

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Dedication v
  3. Contents vii
  4. List of figures viii
  5. Acknowledgments x
  6. Map of Eire during the Emergency xi
  7. Introduction 1
  8. 1 Agreements made, pledges broken 21
  9. 2 Neutral states in a world at war, September 1939 to May 1940 43
  10. 3 “Unstoppable” Germany, “unbeatable” Britain, June to December 1940 81
  11. 4 In pursuit of America’s friendship, January to June 1941 109
  12. 5 British friend, Irish foe, July to December 1941 140
  13. 6 Efforts to “break the backbone” of Irish neutrality, January 1942 to December 1943 168
  14. 7 Eire, neutral to the bitter end, January 1944 to June 1945 198
  15. Conclusion 222
  16. Bibliography 237
  17. Index 246
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 24.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.7765/9781526157300.00013/html?srsltid=AfmBOop7-Htz5ii5mjveVUgd83Icj5btCzPW61tcrdkqF8CI5Zv7Jl5f
Scroll to top button