1941: Ireland (Eire)

Although Eire succeeded in avoiding direct involvement in the war which surged around it in 1941, its life was very largely dominated by the conflict. Throughout the first six months of the year there was constant anxiety lest the Germans attempt to seize Ireland as a base for an attack on England. Ireland suffered along with England from the German undersea campaign and the ensuing shortage of shipping. In fact, it probably suffered more because as a nonbelligerent it could not present as urgent a claim for shipping as if it were aiding the British defense effort.

Nor did Eire's neutrality save it altogether from the destructiveness of war. On at least four occasions during the year Irish territory suffered from Nazi bombs, and on one of these occasions the damage was severe. Attacks were made on the first two nights of the year — Jan. 1 and 2 — and on the night of Jan. 23, but these were comparatively light as compared to the devastating attack made on Dublin early in the morning of May 31. On this latter date at least four heavy-caliber bombs were dropped on the capital, killing thirty-five persons and wounding 120. Scores of homes were completely demolished or badly damaged on the North Side of the city. The first bomb landed in North Circular Road almost directly opposite the city's largest high school; the second landed a quarter of a mile away in the North Strand and did the heaviest damage. The third and fourth fell nearby. Investigations showed the bombs to be unquestionably of German origin. A strong protest was made to Berlin, and although the Reich did not formally admit its guilt it expressed regret at the bombing and offered to give compensation for the loss of life, injuries, and property damage. The attitude of the German Government on this occasion was in sharp contrast with that shown previously. After the attack of Jan. 2, the Irish protest was first met with an assertion that the planes must have been British. Later, however the Germans agreed to take responsibility, though not admitting the attack.

Apart from actual attacks, the war had a very far-reaching effect on Irish life. The shortage of certain kinds of foods required the setting up of a drastic rationing system. Ordinary white bread has become unobtainable. Automobiles have practically ceased to run because of the shortage of gasoline. Air raid shelters have been built in Dublin and other cities. Partial blackouts are enforced, as much for the purpose of conserving fuel as for protection. A strict censorship has been in force since the outbreak of the war.

The most severe effects of the conflict have undoubtedly been economic. Ireland, to a much larger extent than most countries, has been dependent on foreign trade, chiefly with England. While that trade has not been completely cut off, it has been drastically reduced because of the shortage of shipping. To make matters more serious, the efforts of the de Valera government to make Eire self-sufficient through the development of industry has been wrecked because of the country's inability to get raw materials, particularly coal. Speaking before the annual conference of Eire's industrial leaders on Feb. 18, Sean MaCentee, Minister of Industry and Commerce, summarized the situation when he reminded his hearers that a year ago he had said that Eire had scarcely felt the effects of the naval warfare around it.

'We can say that no longer,' he declared. 'We are now as tightly and as effectively blockaded as if we were actual belligerents ... if at the outset of the war we had had a merchant marine capable of and utilized for carrying all our deep sea and continental trade, we should have by this time lost much more than half our fleet.'

Efforts to counteract this situation by chartering American and other neutral vessels were only moderately successful. While Eire gained a respite, along with Britain, from the diminution of Nazi attacks in the summer and fall of 1941, its economic position remained exceedingly grave at the close of the year.

The possibility of Eire ceding bases for the use of Britain in the Battle of the Atlantic came up a number of times in the course of the year. In January there were reports that Britain would cede the six countries of Northern Ireland in exchange for naval bases. This report, however, proved erroneous. A month later reports from London, passed by the British censor, stated that the British Government was seeking the aid of the United States and Canada in an attempt to gain use of Irish ports. But if the United States did make such representation, it was never officially admitted. In July James Dillon, deputy leader of the Fine Gael party, urged in a debate in the Dail that bases be provided the United States and Great Britain. But his plea was repudiated by Willim T. Cosgrave, head of the Fine Gael, or opposition, party. The question never came to vote, but it is believed that almost the entire Dail would have opposed Mr. Dillon's suggestion. Informal polls carried out among the Irish population indicated overwhelming opposition to the proposal. A great majority of the Irish seemed to assume that once the ports were handed over Ireland would become a war area and would soon become directly involved in the war. This feeling was apparently not based on anti-British feeling, but on a fundamental desire to stay out of the war as long as possible. And this desire does not seem to rest so much on fear of the physical consequences of war as on a feeling that the outcome of the war will not be materially affected no matter how Eire may act. It is frequently pointed out that although Britain had control of the Irish ports in the First World War it was not able to control the submarine menace until the United States entered the war.

Eire's home defence program, spurred by the threat of invasion, imposed an unprecedented financial burden on the country. The budget for 1941-42, presented to the Dail Eireann on May 7 by Finance Minister Scan T. O'Kelly, called for expenditures in excess of £40,000,000. This was a tremendous bill for a country of 3,000,000 with little industry and which is suffering from a severe reduction in its usually profitable foreign trade. To meet it, the income tax was raised from 6s.6d. to the pound to 7s.6d. Death duties were increased 10 per cent, and the gasoline tax boosted from 10d a gallon to 15d. About £2,000,000 was added to the tobacco tax, and it was estimated borrowings would reach at least £4,000,000.

In the political field, the year was a quiet one. All parties were united with regard to the maintenance of Eire's neutrality in the war and this issue transcended all others in importance. The nearest to a political crisis to occur during the year concerned not Eire's but Britain's policy. A statement made by Prime Minister Churchill early in May to the effect that his government was considering the possibility of extending the draft to Northern Ireland provoked a violent outburst of indignation in Eire. A special session of the Dail Eireann was called for May 26 at which the leaders of all the political parties publicly registered their opposition to the proposal. Mr. De Valera's statement was restrained but firm. 'The Six Counties are a part of Ireland,' he declared. 'They have always been a part of Ireland. No Act of Parliament can alter this fact. In the Six Counties there are more than a third of the population who have vehemently protested against being cut off from the main body of the nation, who were so cut off against their will and against the will of the majority of the whole Irish people. It would be an outrage to compel them to fight in the forces of another country which has done them, and continues to do them, grievous wrong.'

Largely as a result of the protests in Eire, Prime Minister Churchill told that House of Commons on the following day, May 27, that the proposal to extend conscription to North Ireland would not be applied 'at the present time.'

Except for Mr. De Valera's speech on the conscription issue, less was said regarding partition than in any recent year. In fact, there is ample evidence that Eire's feelings toward Britain were much more friendly than at any time in recent years. Many Irishmen volunteered for the British army and the RAF and may be found serving the Crown on many battlefields.