“Melancholy and lovely” is how the author, Nora Roberts described Ireland in her 1994 novel, Born in Fire. To most people, Ireland is known as a peaceful nation. For the most part, they are, but what a lot of people probably don’t know is that this peace that Ireland has work so hard to maintain, has led to some problems in the past. The topic of Irish neutrality is a still hotly debated topic. No country that remained neutral provoked more controversy than Ireland (Neutral Island).
Ireland Neutrality Policy
When World War II started, the policy of Irish neutrality was adopted by the Oireachtas Éireann (the legislature of Ireland), under the presidency of Éamon de Valera. It was his “judicious pragmatism” which “first brought his party to power, …show more content…
There is no definite figure but it is known that there were thousands of Irish men and women that joined the British military (Returning, 2013). According to Sarah Bardon in her 2012 article, “around 5,000 Irish soldiers went to fight with the British during the Second World War”. These volunteers saw past the propaganda and took action to protect themselves from the Axis Powers, who was becoming a bigger threat.
Problems Former Irish Soldiers Faced When They Returned …show more content…
History of PTSD says, “WWII differed from previous wars in its use of bigger field weapons and bombs, which placed soldiers at greater risk” (World War II, 2011). There was a lot of trauma involved in this war and the former soldiers were not getting any support from their home country. It explains why some Irish veterans settled in Britain, away from a country that did not even want them back. At least there, they could share their experiences with others who would understand the toll that war took on everyone. The citizens of Ireland would not have understood because they were being fed propaganda, and their neutral island was away from most disasters (Returning Home,
Ireland Neutrality Policy
When World War II started, the policy of Irish neutrality was adopted by the Oireachtas Éireann (the legislature of Ireland), under the presidency of Éamon de Valera. It was his “judicious pragmatism” which “first brought his party to power, …show more content…
There is no definite figure but it is known that there were thousands of Irish men and women that joined the British military (Returning, 2013). According to Sarah Bardon in her 2012 article, “around 5,000 Irish soldiers went to fight with the British during the Second World War”. These volunteers saw past the propaganda and took action to protect themselves from the Axis Powers, who was becoming a bigger threat.
Problems Former Irish Soldiers Faced When They Returned …show more content…
History of PTSD says, “WWII differed from previous wars in its use of bigger field weapons and bombs, which placed soldiers at greater risk” (World War II, 2011). There was a lot of trauma involved in this war and the former soldiers were not getting any support from their home country. It explains why some Irish veterans settled in Britain, away from a country that did not even want them back. At least there, they could share their experiences with others who would understand the toll that war took on everyone. The citizens of Ireland would not have understood because they were being fed propaganda, and their neutral island was away from most disasters (Returning Home,