Sorry James,
whilst 'returned rather than interned' aircrew was the norm, and a fair few Irish citizens made their way north to enlist, de Valera also refused the RN the use of the treaty ports - given the urgency of the Battle of the Atlantic (especially when you note that some of the shipping under threat was destined to supply Eire) I still think that suggests it'd be a rather stupid strategy that relied on the Irish filling in any gaps in UK defence.
Eire | Oxford Companion to World War II | MyWire
- I'm not saying the Irish OUGHT to join in, I'm saying we'd be bloody stupid to rely on it.