AT THE beginning of World War II, the then taoiseach Eamon de Valera declared this nation’s neutrality, calling it an emergency.
Ireland was not to escape totally the effects of war, with the German Luftwaffe pounding British cities, including Belfast, and a small number of bombs landed in the Republic.
On 26 August 1940, a German warplane dropped four bombs on the railway station at Duncormack, County Wexford, narrowly missing its target and creating large craters in an adjacent turnip field. However, the nearby village of Campile, which was also attacked, was not so lucky. Three women were killed when the Shelburne Co-op was bombed. They were sisters Mary Ellen (30) and her 26-year-old sister Catherine Kent from Terrerath, and Kathleen Hurley (27) from Garryduff.
This did not seem a random attack and various reasons have been put forward as an excuse, such as captured British soldiers on the battlefields of Europe were carrying butter wrappers from the creamery. Another theory is that it was to stop Harland & Wolff developing a proposed deep-sea facility in the area. Whatever the reason, Germany paid compensation of £9,000 in 1943. On 20 December, bombs hit Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, Sandycove Railway Station and Dun Laoghaire, injuring seven people.
On New Year’s Day 1941, the Meath villages of Duleek and Julianstown were hit, with no casualties. On the following day, attacks were carried out at Terenure in Dublin, where several houses were destroyed and seven people injured. Other locations to suffer the same fate included The Curragh Racecourse, Kildare and Ballymurn, County Wexford. And tragically in Knockroe, Borris, a bomb hit a house, killing three members of the Shannon family – sisters Mary Ellen (40) and Bridgid (38), along with their niece 16-year-old Kathleen.
The German government claimed – as they did in most of the Irish bombings – that this was a case where pilots mistook the coastline for that of Britain. The popular belief is that they were jettisoning their loads in order to make a safe journey home.
At this point, let us just cross the border and comment briefly on Belfast’s worst night of bombings during the war. This took place on Tuesday 15 April 1941, the end of the Easter weekend, when more than 180 German aircraft attacked the city for over six hours, dropping more than 203 tonnes of bombs and 800 firebomb canisters on the city. A British Hurricane squadron was wiped out, while there were no German losses. On the ground, more than 1,000 people died, with over 1,500 injured. Almost 100,000 were left homeless.
Lord Haw Haw (William Joyce), famous for his propaganda speeches from Germany, had earlier promised that Easter eggs would be delivered to Belfast. Just a bit about Joyce – he was born in New York to an Irish father and English mother. He lived in England from 1921 to 1933, where he joined the British fascists. An admirer of Hitler, he moved to Germany with his wife Margaret in 1939 and began his broadcasts from a Berlin radio station. In 1944 he was awarded the German War Cross of Merit. He was arrested on the Danish border attempting to flee Germany at the end of the war.
He was charged with high treason at the Old Bailey, convicted and hanged in Wandsworth Prison on 3 January 1946 and was buried in an unmarked grave. Margaret lived in Hamburg until 1962. She then moved back to London and died an alcoholic ten years later at the age of 60. Joyce’s daughter, Heather, obtained permission to exhume his body and brought it to Ireland for burial in Bohermore Road Cemetery, Galway.
Back to the bombing ... with Belfast burning and bombs dropped on Derry and Bangor (causing 20 deaths), the minister for security John McDermott contacted de Valera for assistance, which the Dublin government agreed to provide. And within two hours, 71 firemen and 13 tenders from Dundalk, Drogheda and Dublin were dispatched to the stricken city. This is important, as it may be the reason why the North Stand area of Dublin was bombed six weeks later.
Friday 31 May was the start of the June Bank Holiday weekend. Just after midnight, the drone of approaching aircraft could be heard, as was the sound of explosions in the distance. Search lights could be seen sweeping the sky and, a short time later, anti-aircraft batteries commenced firing, which was in line with our armed neutrality position.
At 1.30am, the bombs began to fall on Dublin. North Richmond Street and Rutland Place were hit, as was Dublin Zoo, where neither human or animal casualties were suffered. Aras an Uachtarain (Dr Douglas Hyde was president) was also damaged by this bomb, with its windows blown out.
The most devastating incident happened on the North Strand just after 2am when an apparently low-flying bomber dropped a landmine between the Five Lamps and New Common Bridge. This was a very destructive weapon and ripped the area apart, leaving it in ruins. Thirty-four people died and 90 were injured; 300 houses were destroyed and more than 400 people left homeless. Emergency services, including the LDF, fire service, civil defence and ambulance crews were quickly on the scene, facing utter destruction like they had never encountered before.
The dead and injured were removed to nearby hospitals. Arrangements were made to find shelter for those whose homes were destroyed. These people were helped by family, friends and government services.
On 5 June, a Mass was held for 12 of the victims, and was attended by de Valera and other members of the government. A complaint was made to Germany, which accepted responsibility for the raid, and agreed to pay compensation, which it then failed to do.
In 1958, West Germany paid £327,000. Neither East Germany nor Austria, which were part of Germany at the time, paid any compensation. More than 2,000 claims were processed by the Irish government, with the final payout reaching £344,000.
German radio stated it would not bomb Ireland intentionally, it must have been a navigational error, yet Lord Haw Haw had broadcast during the aftermath of the Belfast bombings that Amiens Street railway station (now Connolly Street) would be bombed because of the masses of Belfast refugees arriving there. Another contention is that it was a warning to Ireland to stay out of the war, a reference to the fact that aid and assistance had been sent to Belfast.
Two other towns were bombed in July 1941 with no casualties: Arklow on the 2nd, and Dundalk two days later. These raids were also flagged by Lord Haw Haw, who stated that cattle were being sent to England from the towns.