A few salient points about Eamon De Valera before and during the war

Micheal O’Cathail (‘Ireland was like many other states in being neutral during World War II’, October 28, see link below) takes issue with Samuel Morrison and accuses him of “not being fair in suggesting that ... Mr Eamon De Valera ... was supportive of 20th century Nazism”.

Perhaps a few salient points could be considered.

As early as March 1938, in presenting the Free State Army estimates to the Dail, De Valera declared “If England seeks to use any part of our national territory for any purpose for which we do not agree, we have friends amongst the Great Powers of Europe who will come to our aid“.

The liberation of Belsen and the revelation of the Nazi Holocaust came on the 15th April 1945, a full fortnight before Hitler’s suicide and De Valera’s signing of a condolence book at the German Embassy.

As has been recently revealed those citizens of the Irish Free State who left to participate in the struggle against Nazism were, on their return, ‘blacklisted’ by their government, a practice which had “Dev’s knowledge and authority“.

In truth it appears that De Valera’s outlook might well have been that of a sneaking admiration of one 20th century nationalist for another.

Robert Wallace, Portadown

Ireland was like many other states in being neutral during World War II

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