Eire's neutrality and the Emergency: de Valera's policy of neutrality, the reasons for it, the Treaty Ports, and the limits of neutrality in practice.

What this dot point is asking

You need to explain why Eire (the Irish Free State, later the Republic) remained neutral in the Second World War, the policy of de Valera, the issue of the Treaty Ports, and how neutral Eire actually was in practice. CCEA examiners reward an understanding of the reasons for neutrality, the period known as the Emergency, and a judgement that recognises neutrality was real in name but quietly tilted towards the Allies.

The policy of neutrality

Why Eire stayed neutral

Several connected reasons lay behind the policy.

• Independence. Neutrality asserted Eire's hard-won sovereignty and its right to act as a free state.
• Partition. Many in Eire would not fight alongside Britain while Northern Ireland remained partitioned; ending partition was a long-standing Irish goal.
• Weakness and unity. Eire was small and poorly armed, and de Valera believed neutrality would keep the country out of danger and united, avoiding the bombing and destruction that war would bring.

The Treaty Ports and Churchill's frustration

A major source of tension was the Treaty Ports. Under the 1921 treaty, Britain had kept the use of certain Irish ports, but these had been handed back to Eire in 1938. During the war, denied these ports, Britain could not use them as bases against the U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic. Churchill was deeply frustrated by this loss, which made the ports and airfields of Northern Ireland all the more important to the Allied war effort.

The limits of neutrality

Examples in context

Model causation paragraph. "Eire remained neutral above all to assert its independence and because of partition. Neutrality was a deliberate statement that the Irish Free State was sovereign and would decide its own policy rather than follow Britain into war. Closely linked was partition: many in Eire would not fight alongside Britain while the North remained separated. De Valera also judged that a small, poorly armed country was safer staying out of the conflict and that neutrality would keep Eire united. The most important reasons were therefore the assertion of independence and the issue of partition, with the desire to avoid danger reinforcing them." This scores highly because it ranks linked reasons with precise evidence.

Try this

Q1. Who declared Eire's neutrality, and what was the wartime period called there? [2 marks]

• Cue. The Taoiseach Eamon de Valera; the period was officially called the Emergency.

Q2. Give two reasons Eire remained neutral. [2 marks]

• Cue. Any two: to assert its independence, because of partition, and because de Valera thought neutrality would keep a weak country safe and united.

Q3. How was Eire's neutrality tilted towards the Allies in practice? [3 marks]

• Cue. It returned Allied airmen while interning German ones, shared intelligence, and many Irish citizens joined the British forces.