Irish Free State Volunteers of the Second World War

A member of the British Commonwealth, the Irish Free State (not to become a republic until 1949) under Éamon de Valera’s Fianna Fáil government remained neutral throughout the war, and outlawed citizens from serving with foreign powers. Despite this, Irish citizens served on land, in the air and across oceans during every campaign of the conflict, from the Phoney War of 1939 to the final Japanese surrender of September 1945, and the treatment they received from their families and friends ranged from absolute pride to intense societal stigma. This article explores the experiences of a selection of the Irish volunteers to demonstrate the complexity and variety of Irish identities surrounding the issue of serving the British during their darkest hour. From die-hard Republican veterans to those of Anglo-Irish sympathies, the volunteers and their families represented a cross section of an incredibly diverse society still reeling from centuries of British rule.