Pocket Guide to Northern Ireland - Eire Border Problems

Source:A Pocket Guide to Northern Ireland [.mobi (Kindle), .epub (iPad, etc.)]
Author:War and Navy Departments, Washington, D.C.
Date:1943

AMERICAN troops are not permitted to cross the border into Eire, and, as you probably know, Eamon De Valera, Prime Minister of Eire, publicly protested against the first landings of our men in Ulster.

This may strike you as strange—as it is strange—when the grave issues at stake in this war are considered. Behind this border closing, behind the De Valera protest, is the whole difficult and complicated Irish question. You need to know about this problem and what is said on both sides, but the best plan for an American soldier is to stay on the side lines.

De Valera’s goal is the unification of all Ireland into one nation. His government protested against the landing of troops because, as a matter of public policy, it does not recognize the separation of Northern Ireland. Eire has declared itself neutral in the war. However, the great majority of the citizens of Eire privately hope for an Allied victory,[4] and the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck is said to have been cheered more loudly in Dublin than in London.

Nevertheless, Eire’s neutrality is a real danger to the Allied cause. There, just across the Irish Channel from embattled England, and not too far from your own billets in Ulster, the Axis nations maintain large legations and staffs. These Axis agents send out weather reports, find out by espionage what is going on in Ulster.[5] The Ulster border is 600 miles long [6] and hard to patrol. Axis spies sift back and forth across the border constantly.

Be on your guard! The Nazis are trying to find out all about the A. E. F.[7] Watch what you say in public. Enemy ears are listening.

Yanks: British Views on America during the Second World War

This book comprises a selection of articles from the (British) Army Bureau of Current Affairs' WAR and CURRENT AFFAIRS pamphlets, all relating to America and, more particularly, to the relationship between the British and Americans during the Second World War.

"Our enemies are trying to make trouble between the British and the Americans during the war; they are certain to try it after they have been defeated, in the hope of escaping once more from the consequences of their crimes against humanity. It is our business to understand and work with the United States now and in peace-time; that means for us all at least to like and understand the Americans we meet."

ISBN: 978-1910375518