Irish in the service of the Reich?

[Sarge1st]

While Ireland was officially a Neutral in WWII it is common knowledge that they often offered covert assistance to German submarines in need. Is there any record of Irishmen serving in any of the German military branches (SS, Heer, KM, Luftwaffe, etc). I do realize that any such service would only involve small numbers if it existed at all.

[Tom Houlihan]

Outside of the Forum Heroes, I'm not aware of any.

[sid guttridge]

Hi Sarge,

......and should be set against the approximately 100,000 who volunteered to serve in British uniform.

Cheers,

Sid.

[Sarge1st]

Thanks Sid.
I am the proud product of an Irish Catholic Father and an English (Liverpool) Protestant Mother so I have a constant inner turmoil going on inside (only kidding). I am well aware of the Irish serving with the Brits. My Dad's brother served with the Inniskilling Regiment. I am also aware of the Britishes Freikorps and just wondered about the Irish side of the family. No insult or defamation was intended towards the Irish.

[TPMM]

I remember a discussion about Irishmen in Berlin on this forum...

[TPMM]

http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopi ... n+irishmen

Pozdrawiam

[Sarge1st]

Thanks for the info TPMM, much appreciated.

[cowper]

Re: Irish U Boat Assistance

This is an old wives tale which keeps coming up. There is absolutely no evidence of U Boats being given assistance on Irish coasts during the war. However there is plenty of evidence of collaboration with allies as follows:

1. The 'Donegal Corridor' was used by the RAF with permission of Irish authorities to allow aircraft to cross Donegal on return from Atlantic patrols in their approach to Enniskillen in Northern Ireland.
2. The Foynes Transatlantic seaplane base near Limerick remained open throughout the war and was used as a staging post by Allied aircraft. Senior allied personalities secretly passed through this station including, possibly Churchill.
3. Allied aircrews landing in Ireland were returned promptly to Northern Ireland, together with strategic salvaged equipment.
4. There was one notable attempt by an Irish Air Corps Walrus based in Shannon to fly to join the Luftwaffe in the Channel Islands. The reasons given by the pilot were: a) Boredom and b) The Luftwaffe had better equipment! He and his 3 companions were intercepted by the RAF on the coast of Cornwall. They were sent back to Ireland and court martialled. On his release the pilot joined the RAF, was allowed to wear his Air Corps wings -- and flew Spitfires until the end of the war!!!

[phylo_roadking]

More to the above;

it is common knowledge that they often offered covert assistance to German submarines in need

The RN actually carried out quite extensive investigations into this during 1940 and 1941 - even to the extent of mounting their own covert operations using trawlers...and escorting submarines connected by phone cable!....to picket various bays and inlets, and made a number of covert landings in Atlantic coast fishing harbours - and found NO signs of German landings...or the locals even having enough of ANYTHING to supply U-Boats See Robert Fisk's In Time of War for more details.

Sarge, you have NO idea how poor those fishing harbours and island communities on the Irish Atlantic seaboard were during the war - and, let's face it, before and for years afterwards. Every ounce of food put aboard a U-Boat would have been an ounce out of the mouths of themselves and their own children - already half-starved and living in destitution. Their support for Germany wasn't THAT deep-seated! More likely the Germans would have ended up feeding THEM...