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Quiz about You Think You Know About ire Ireland in WWII 1
Quiz about You Think You Know About ire Ireland in WWII 1

You Think You Know About Éire (Ireland) in WWII? 1 Quiz


So you think Éire (Ireland) simply kept out of World War II by remaining neutral. Well, like all Irish history, it wasn't as straightforward as that ...

A multiple-choice quiz by CuddlyNutter. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
CuddlyNutter
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
382,380
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
265
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. In 1939 Éire (Ireland) was the only member of what organisation to remain neutral? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. In Éire (Ireland) World War II is referred to as what? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. During World War II did Éire (Ireland) enforce her neutrality by interning combatants found on her soil? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. During World War II Éire (Ireland) breached its neutrality numerous times. Which of the following did it NOT do? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Faced with potential invasion from either the Allied or Axis powers the full time Irish Defence Forces grew from 10,000 strong at the start of World War II to what figure by 1945? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. With reference to Éire (Ireland) in World War II, what was Plan W? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. At 10:40 pm on Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941 up to 200 German bombers arrived over Belfast, Northern Ireland's capital. By the time they left at 5am some 900 people were dead, the highest death toll for a single night raid outside London. How did Éire (Ireland) respond? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. During World War II a number men serving in the Irish Defence Forces enlisted in the British army. How many men did so? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. When these men returned to Éire (Ireland) they faced a number of sanctions imposed by the Irish government. Which of the following was NOT one of them. Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. There were numerous reasons for Éire (Ireland) to remain neutral during World War II, which of the following was NOT one? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In 1939 Éire (Ireland) was the only member of what organisation to remain neutral?

Answer: The British Commonwealth

The Irish Free State was established in 1922 as a Dominion of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The Irish Free State, and from 1937 Éire (Ireland), remained part of the Commonwealth until the Oireachtas Éireann, (the legislature of Ireland), passed the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 which came into force on 18 April 1949 declaring Éire a republic.

Therefore during World War II Éire was a member of the British Commonwealth and the only member of that organisation not to declare war on Germany.
2. In Éire (Ireland) World War II is referred to as what?

Answer: The Emergency

A state of emergency was proclaimed by Dáil Éireann, the lower house of Oireachtas Éireann (the legislature of Ireland), on 2 September 1939. "The Emergency" is used figuratively in historical and cultural contexts to refer to the Irish state during World War II.
3. During World War II did Éire (Ireland) enforce her neutrality by interning combatants found on her soil?

Answer: Yes, but....

"Yes," officially a camp at The Curragh, County Kildare, was used to intern Allied and Axis combatants who were found in Ireland.

"But..." there is evidence that sympathetic Irish civilians, and even members of the Garda Síochána (Police), escorted Allied combatants across the border into Northern Ireland, which as part of the UK, was at war.

US personnel were not interned due to an agreement between the Irish and US governments.
4. During World War II Éire (Ireland) breached its neutrality numerous times. Which of the following did it NOT do?

Answer: Allowed members of its armed forces to join the British armed forces.

Irish coast-watching stations deliberately reported to Dublin by radio enabling the British to listen in, the Germans were too far away to listen in effectively. Later in the war, all reports were encrypted in a code secretly supplied by the British.

The Royal Navy was allowed to station an armed tug, at Killybegs, Co. Donegal, for air-sea rescue, they were also offered facilities at Cobh (Cork) and Berehaven.

An "official" blind eye was turned to British aircraft using an "air corridor" over south Donegal out into the Atlantic thus extending their patrol range by 100 miles (160Km).
5. Faced with potential invasion from either the Allied or Axis powers the full time Irish Defence Forces grew from 10,000 strong at the start of World War II to what figure by 1945?

Answer: 40,000

This comprised an all-volunteer force of two infantry divisions and two brigades, coastal artillery and garrison units but this figure does not include the reserves. However it was realised that Éire could not be wholly successful in repelling an invasion from either side, so the underlying strategy was to put up a conventional defence before finally resorting to guerilla warfare, a strategy that had proved successful against the British in the War of Independence.
6. With reference to Éire (Ireland) in World War II, what was Plan W?

Answer: Joint Irish/British plan to repel German invasion.

The Germans did have a plan, Operation Green, to invade Ireland but fortunately Hitler's gaze turned from the British Isles to the USSR.

The British could not afford to let Ireland fall into German hands and a pre-emptive invasion of Éire, if not the whole island at least the Treaty Ports, was a distinct possibility. Although no official plan has yet come to light Field Marshal Montgomery noted in his memoirs: "I was told to prepare plans for the seizure of Cork and Queenstown."

German planning for Operation Green began in May 1940 with the British learning about it from radio intercepts. Although British-Irish co-operation was controversial, Ireland could not hope to repel a German invasion on her own and Britain knew that with Ireland in German hands they must lose the war. As a result the first meeting on a joint action plan, later codenamed Plan W, to repel a German invasion took place on 24 May 1940.
7. At 10:40 pm on Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941 up to 200 German bombers arrived over Belfast, Northern Ireland's capital. By the time they left at 5am some 900 people were dead, the highest death toll for a single night raid outside London. How did Éire (Ireland) respond?

Answer: By breaking neutrality and sending humanitarian aid to a combatant nation.

By 4.00am, according to reports, all of Belfast seemed to be in flames and at 4.35am a telegram was sent to the Irish Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera requesting assistance. Within two hours firemen and fire tenders from Dundalk, Drogheda, Dublin, and Dún Laoghaire were on their way across the Irish border to assist their colleagues in Belfast. They remained for three days.

In 1995 on the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II an invitation was send to the Dublin Fire Brigade inviting any survivors to attend a function at Hillsborough Castle with Prince Charles. Of the four men known still to be alive only one was able to attended.

At the time the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera said "In the past, and probably in the present, too, a number of them did not see eye to eye with us politically, but they are our people - we are one and the same people - and their sorrows in the present instance are also our sorrows; and I want to say to them that any help we can give to them in the present time we will give to them whole-heartedly, believing that were the circumstances reversed they would also give us their help whole-heartedly."
8. During World War II a number men serving in the Irish Defence Forces enlisted in the British army. How many men did so?

Answer: 5,000

Many Irish people, though supporting their country's neutrality, wanted to actively fight against, what they saw as, German aggression. While the Irish government turned a blind eye to civilians enlisting in the British army they classed the 4,983 Irish soldiers that did so as deserters.
9. When these men returned to Éire (Ireland) they faced a number of sanctions imposed by the Irish government. Which of the following was NOT one of them.

Answer: Court martial and imprisonment for desertion.

On their return to Éire these men were branded as traitors by many and found guilty of going absent without leave by a military tribunal. It was not until 2012 that the Second World War Amnesty and Immunity Bill 2012 was passed. The bill recognised the courage and bravery of the 4,983 soldiers court-martialled and dismissed from the Defence Forces for absenting themselves without leave.
10. There were numerous reasons for Éire (Ireland) to remain neutral during World War II, which of the following was NOT one?

Answer: Fear that if on the losing side Éire would, once again, become part of an empire British or German.

Many smaller nations attempted to remain neutral during World War II with varying degrees of success but few were vilified as much as Éire (Ireland). Yet in the end Éire did make its contribution to the Allied war effort. How significant that contribution was is a matter of debate but with tens of thousands of Irishmen joining the armed forces of Allied nations, and their determination to defend their neutrality in the face all comers, fear could not justifiably be given as a reason for Éire's neutrality.
Source: Author CuddlyNutter

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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