Hitler's 'Irish escape plan'

Kyt · Jun 27, 2008

Hitler's 'Irish escape plan' - Comment, Opinion - Herald.ie

British Intelligence claimed Adolf Hitler and his top aides planned to hide in Ireland at the end of World War Two.

That was one of the more outrageous hoaxes cooked up by British Intelligence, according to a new book.

It lifts the lid on British "black propaganda" efforts to undermine neutral Ireland during World War Two.

"It was to be a 'blood libel' on Ireland," said Eunan O'Halpin, Bank of Ireland Professor of Contemporary Irish History at Trinity College Dublin.

"A Northern Ireland general attached to the Special Operations Executive was quite attached to the idea but it was shot down at the highest political level."

PARACHUTED

His book, Spying on Ireland: British Intelligence and Irish Neutrality during the Second World War, also tells the story of Joseph Lenihan, uncle of the late Brian Lenihan and Mary O'Rourke.

Joseph was parachuted into Ireland in July, 1941, from a German aircraft to act as a German spy, but he handed himself over to the British authorities, who then tried to use him as a 'double agent', but the deception did not work.

Prof O'Halpin said he has examined Mr Lenihan's MI5 file. He claimed to have fought in China against the Japanese and to have been in the American Army and was very proud of being an Irish republican.

The British also had a controlling agent in the American Irish Defence Association, which tried to spread the idea of giving Irish ports back to the British among Irish Americans.

And the hoary old story of how German U-boats refuelled in secret bays in the West of Ireland was first believed by the British Admiralty, and is still bandied about to this day.

"It was pure baloney," Prof O'Halpin said.

It also details how Ireland both interested and irritated Churchill during the war. His top aides tended to keep news of Ireland away from him because he would "go off the deep end," he said.

Irish neutrality during World War Two presented Britain with "significant" challenges to its security, according to the book.

The book analyses the extent of British knowledge of Axis (German, Italian and Japanese) diplomatic missions in Ireland and shows the crucial role of diplomatic code breaking in shaping British policy.

"Drawing heavily on British and American intelligence records -- many disclosed here for the first time -- Eunan O'Halpin casts fresh light on British activities in Ireland and on the significance of both espionage and intelligence co-operation for developing wider relations between the two countries," according to a spokesperson for Oxford University Press.

"It constitutes essential reading for students and scholars of modern Irish and British history, as well as those interested in the Second World War and the history of intelligence agencies," she said.

The book includes chapters on Britain's 'Irish security problem', from 1922 to 1939, and the 'Phoney war, Phoney spies' from September 1939 to April 1940.

It also deals with the invasion fears of May 1940 to June 1941, when the Irish Army prepared plans to deal with a German -- or British/American -- invasion.

There is also a chapter on the preparation for Overlord, the D-Day invasion of Normandy, when tens of thousands of US soldiers trained in Northern Ireland.

The book details the British obsession with possible "leaks" from the German Legation in Dublin about the coming invasion.

Mrs Justice Susan Denham will speak at the launch of the new book in Trinity College this evening.

Spying on Ireland: British Intelligence and Irish Neutrality during the Second World War (Oxford Univeristy Press, £30 sterling).
Click to expand...

Amazon.co.uk: Spying on Ireland: British Intelligence and Irish Neutrality During the Second World War: Eunan O'Halpin: Books

Pathfinder · Jun 27, 2008

The book sounds like an interesting read if I ever get to see it.

Ferhilt · Jun 27, 2008

Somehow I can't see Barney A. O'Hitler dancing an Irish jig with his hair and little 'stash dyed red...

morse1001 · Jun 27, 2008

Ferhilt said: ↑

Somehow I can't see Barney A. O'Hitler dancing an Irish jig with his hair and little 'stash dyed red...
Click to expand...

There is a rumour that he visited his relatives in Liverpool! And his nephew, Adolf Hitler served with the US Navy in the Pacific during the war!

Brian S · Jun 28, 2008

Hitlers Relatives

morse1001 said: ↑

There is a rumour that he visited his relatives in Liverpool! And his nephew, Adolf Hitler served with the US Navy in the Pacific during the war!
Click to expand...

There was a T.V. Programme that covered Hitlers nephew who came from Liverpool,and how he visited Berlin.
Yet again a programme on Sattelite entitled "Irelands Nazis"which covered post war years.

Log in or Sign up

Hitler's 'Irish escape plan'

Kyt Άρης

Pathfinder Guest

Ferhilt New Member

morse1001 Guest

Brian S Guest

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Hitler's 'Irish escape plan'

Thread Tools

Kyt Άρης

Pathfinder Guest

Ferhilt New Member

morse1001 Guest

Brian S Guest

Share This Page

Useful Searches