The policy of neutrality was adopted by Ireland's Oireachtas at the instigation of the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera upon the outbreak of World War II in Europe. It was maintained throughout the conflict, in spite of several German air raids by aircraft that missed their intended British targets, and attacks on Ireland's shipping fleet by Allies and Axis alike. Possibilities of both German and British invasions were discussed in Dáil Éireann. Both eventualities were prepared for, although the most detailed preparations were done with the Allies under Plan W. De Valera's ruling party, Fianna Fáil, supported his neutral policy for the duration of the war.
This period is known in Ireland as The Emergency, owing the title to the wording of the constitutional article employed to suspend normal governance of the country.
Pursuing a policy of neutrality required maintaining a balance between the strict observance of non-alignment and the taking of practical steps to repel or discourage an invasion from either of the two warring parties.
Despite the official position of neutrality, there were many unpublicised contraventions of this, such as permitting the use of the Donegal Corridor by Allied military aircraft, and extensive co-operation between Allied and Irish intelligence. The Irish supplied the Allies with detailed weather reports for the Atlantic Ocean, including a weather report from the lighthouse at Blacksod Bay, County Mayo, which prompted the decision to go ahead with the Normandy landings.[1]
- ^ Duggan, John P. (2003). Herr Hempel at the German legation in Dublin, 1937-1945. Dublin: Irish Academic Press. p. 180. ISBN 0-7165-2746-4. OCLC 48570436.