..Irish soldiers who fought Hitler hide their medals

[Mil-Archive]

An old friend from Dublin told me that German u-boats were secretly provisioned in Irish ports during the conflict.

They operated around Irish waters but the allegation the Irish Govt refueled them was a joke considering how severely fuel was rationed in Ireland during ww2. I believe U35 came ashore to drop off survivors & things like that (a boat Mountbatten later sank, while rescuing it's captain and crew) but it's a myth they were operating from bases here.

[DJT]

Wow, huge level of ignorance shown by some people in this thread. Paddy, Mark and Helden are correct with their comments. Ireland was not 'neutral' in the strictest sense during WWII. Ireland actually breached her neutrality several times. That's very clear for anyone willing to pick up a well researched book on the subject or who is aware of the facts. As for Churchill, he had a clear dislike for de Valera but there was 'previous' in that relationship. In my own family, I had 2 relatives (both Dubliners) serve with the Allies during WW2. One with the British Army, the other with the US Navy. Whatever differences Ireland had had with Britain, the vast majority of Irish people knew Hitler was the 'bad guy' and wanted him defeated. I suppose that goes against the ludicrous idea (certain people would love you to believe) that all Irish people were moronic spiteful bog dwelling drunks cheering on the Axis As for the Irish veteran mentioned in the BBC article, I feel sorry for him that he thinks he will be arrested for his wartime service. As Helden pointed out, that's a totally unrealistic fear and someone should really explain that to the poor man.

[DJT]

Just to clarify, when I said Ireland breached her neutrality I meant in favour of the Allies.