World War II. Ireland remained neutral during World War II. The Fianna Fáil government's position was flagged years in advance by Taoiseach Éamon de Valera and had broad support.
The Irish would remain neutral throughout the war but were universally viewed as far more sympathetic and helpful to the Allies than the Axis. Despite their formal neutrality, the Irish experienced a number of aerial bomb attacks from German planes in 1940 and 1941.
Partially independent from Britain since 1921, the Irish Free State adopted a policy of neutrality during World War II. Yet, it was a neutrality that clearly favored the Allies. For centuries, Ireland had provided massive amounts of manpower to Britain.
The reasons for Irish neutrality during the Second World War are widely accepted: that any attempt to take an overtly pro-British line might have resulted in a replay of the Civil War; that Southern Ireland could make little material contribution to the Allied effort, while engagement without adequate defence would ...
Internal affairs. Irish neutrality was supported by the population of Ireland. Irish citizens could serve in the British armed forces. At least 50,000 fought in the British Army.
During World War II Scotland suffered some 34,000 combat deaths, and approximately 6,000 civilians were killed, many in air attacks on Clydeside.
Who can join the UK armed forces? Nationality and residence requirements. People applying to join the UK's armed forces must be either a British or Commonwealth citizen or from the Republic of Ireland (either as a sole or dual national). Gurkhas serve under special and unique arrangements.
The obvious reason is that it would have been impossible for the Germans to evade the Royal Navy (which would have been operating outside the combat radius of the Luftwaffe) and reach Ireland and even if they been able to success would have been contingent on Irish cooperation.
To date, Ireland has not sought to join as a full NATO member due to its traditional policy of military neutrality, although there is an ongoing debate on whether they will join in the future after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Iceland cooperated with the British and then the Americans, but officially remained neutral throughout World War II.
During World War II, Ireland was now officially neutral and independent from the UK. However, over 80,000 Irish-born men and women (north and south) joined the British armed forces, with between 5,000 and 10,000 being killed during the conflict.
Only 14 countries remained officially neutral throughout the entire war. They included Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Turkey, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan as well as the microstates of Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, San Marino and Vatican City.
During World War I (1914–1918), Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which entered the war in August 1914 as one of the Entente Powers, along with France and Russia.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the term "Black Irish" referred to Irish people with black hair and dark features who were considered to be descended from Spanish sailors as depicted in Black Irish (folklore).
Ireland is one of five members of the European Union that are not members of NATO. The country has a longstanding policy of military neutrality: it does not join military alliances or defense pacts, or take part in international conflicts. The nature of Irish neutrality has varied over time.
The foreign relations of Ireland are substantially influenced by its membership of the European Union, although bilateral relations with the United States and United Kingdom are also important to the state. It is one of the group of smaller nations in the EU and has traditionally followed a non-aligned foreign policy.
Cooperation between both nations became much more active following the end of the Cold War, with many bilateral treaties coming into effect between both nations in numerous fields (taxation, investment protection, cultural and scientific, aviation, etc.).
As of February 2023, there were 7,987 permanent personnel in the Defence Forces, a decrease from September 2020 when there were 8,529 personnel, comprising 6,878 Army, 752 Air Corps and 899 Naval Service personnel.
The Irish Army, known simply as the Army (Irish: an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.
Despite its neutrality, Ireland experienced several bombing raids: 26 August 1940: Five German bombs were dropped on County Wexford in a daylight raid. One bomb hit the Shelbourne Co-operative Creamery in Campile killing three people. In 1943, the German government paid £9000 in compensation.
Relations between Ireland and Germany are close and friendly and the two countries work together intensively at both bilateral and European level. In 1990, during its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Ireland made a significant contribution to bringing about German reunification.
In the early 18th century, thousands of German Protestants fled as refugees from the Lower Palatinate and hundreds settled in Ireland.
More than 4,500 Commonwealth citizens, from countries including Australia, Fiji, Ghana, South Africa and Jamaica are already in the ranks of the British Armed Forces. Under the recruitment drive the Army wants to lure 1,000 personnel, while the Royal Navy is hoping for 300 more people and the RAF expects to take on 50.
We lived as part of the English, and then British, Empire for over 700 years. The Normans first conquered Ireland in 1169 and aside from a brief decade of independence during the 1640s Ireland formed an integral part of the English imperial system, until 1922 and the foundation of modern state.
Peacekeepers. The British Government ordered the deployment of troops to Northern Ireland in August 1969. This was to counter the growing disorder surrounding civil rights protests and an increase in sectarian violence during the traditional Protestant marching season.