thousands of Irish Army "deserters " were court-martialed in 1945.

[former wesleyan]

I found this on another forum. A new book details the treatment of those who left the Irish Army to go and fight in WW2.
Their treatment by the Government of the day was called:-

Fine Gael deputy leader, Dr. Thomas F. O’Higgins, described the Government’s action as “brutal, unchristian and inhuman, stimulated by malice, seething with hatred, and oozing with venom”.

The reason he said this was because the legislation was framed so that deserters who stayed at home were let off - ignored - while those who joined the Allied armies were court-martialed.
The book also details how an Irish Naval captain took an Irish ship, which he'd had out on sea trials, to Dunkirk to help with the evacuation.... in secret of course.
A review of the book here:-
Heroism and betrayal

Any of the old salts who post here heard of this ship story ? Or has anyone known anyone who was court-martialed ?

 

[gweedore]

what would you expect of a man who signed the book of condolences for hitler long after belsen and dachau had been exposed

 

[ne0ica]

An Irish soldier who deserted and joined a foreign army should have been shot. The British hanged British soldiers and facists who fought for Hitler.

 

[ocoonassa]

An Irish soldier who deserted and joined a foreign army should have been shot. The British hanged British soldiers and facists who fought for Hitler.

So basically you're angry about the British killing fascists, and you wish there'd been a United Ireland under Nazi Germany. I wonder why?

 

[stripey cat]

You take an oath when you join an army don't you?

If you break that oath, you take the consequences, no?

 

[TaxHavenSite]

An Irish soldier who deserted and joined a foreign army should have been shot. The British hanged British soldiers and facists who fought for Hitler.

The nazis would have abused ireland much more then the british.

 

[former wesleyan]

You take an oath when you join an army don't you?

If you break that oath, you take the consequences, no?

The point is that there were two different reactions to oath breaking. One reaction for those who deserted but hung around, another for those who joined the fight against the Nazis.
But then, double standards were always commonplace in the "slightly constitutional party " !

 

[ocoonassa]

You take an oath when you join an army don't you? If you break that oath, you take the consequences, no?

Some loon headed Spanish-American bitch, who totally shat his pants in Bolands Mill, was exiling Irishmen on account of their bravery, it's a disgrace, you're all in favour of it? They went to stop the whole archipelago being overrun with Nazi f*cks and you think it was right to exile them?

 

[L'Chaim]

I do sympathise with those soldiers who decided that going off to fight against the Nazi regime was a better choice than staying at home in the Irish army and doing nothing to fight Nazism. But they did desert, so technically they left themselves open to being court-marshalled. The authorities at the time probably saw Britain as 'the enemy' outside of the world war, but my sympathies would lie with those soldiers. It just doesn't sit well with me that a democratic country would court-martial soldiers who fought with another democratic country against an evil dictator.....which is what Hitler became

 

[Warren Poynt]

Incidentally, should De Valera have been court martialed in 1916 for failing to fire a single shot in the Easter Rising from his cosy garrison in Bolands Flour Mills.............and at a time when the real battle of the Rising was being fought at Mount Street Bridge when a handful of volunteers confronted the Sherwood Forresters as they arrived off the ferry to quell the Rebellion.

Am I right in thinking Bolands Mills were only about 100 yards or so from the Volunteers Mt Street Bridge mini garrrison.

Dev must have heard the shooting, the fight of the Rising, and yet he sat on his posterior throughout.

Why should I be surprised ?

 

[Schomberg]

I found this on another forum. A new book details the treatment of those who left the Irish Army to go and fight in WW2.
Their treatment by the Government of the day was called:-
The reason he said this was because the legislation was framed so that deserters who stayed at home were let off - ignored - while those who joined the Allied armies were court-martialed.

A review of the book here:-
Heroism and betrayal

Any of the old salts who post here heard of this ship story ? Or has anyone known anyone who was court-martialed ?

scum. the lot of em. Those men who went off to fight Nazism in Europe should have been the ones we hailed as heroes in this country, not people shooting policemen in the back of the head.

The book also details how an Irish Naval captain took an Irish ship, which he'd had out on sea trials, to Dunkirk to help with the evacuation.... in secret of course.

Good on him! Honestly, it's people like that which stop me from giving up on this place entirely! Despite where we are politically and where we have come since 1916 theres still a good lot of good decent folk in this country.

 

[Murph]

Strange one about the Irish Naval Captain taking an Irish Ship out on trials to dunkirk -since we didnt have an Irish Navy until 1946.

The three ships the Irish navy did posess then, had recently been decomissioned Corvetts by the British Navy!

 

[Clanrickard]

Any of the old salts who post here heard of this ship story ? Or has anyone known anyone who was court-martialed ?

Robert Widders

Check the author out on line. His autobiography is called....wait for it "A Few Deeds Short Of A Hero". How can you take this guy seriously?

 

[Aindriu]

Some loon headed Spanish-American bitch, who totally shat his pants in Bolands Mill, was exiling Irishmen on account of their bravery, it's a disgrace, you're all in favour of it? They went to stop the whole archipelago being overrun with Nazi f*cks and you think it was right to exile them?

Well said.

De Valera was a coward and a traitor to Ireland, not the hero Fianna FAIL paint him as. He did more to damage Ireland than even the eejits in power now.

 

[A Time for Every Purpose]

So basically you're angry about the British killing fascists, and you wish there'd been a United Ireland under Nazi Germany. I wonder why?

The word Fascist is too readily used by people who disagree with you .
There were 'fascists 'in all countires including the English establishment,who have managed to cover their tracks ,but not totally.
There are Jewish fascists,and many Jews conspired to 'kill' their 'own 'people.

What the Irish had No doubt about, was that the people who 'destroyed 'Ireland were 'fascists 'and unlike the Germans had not 'paid' for what they did.
.

And since what is certain, is that the 'royal family were Nazi supporters,
until Hitler attacked G.B.,why would anyone from Ireland support this
late conversion ? After all it was not based on higher moral principles ,but pure self interest, that is England involvement in the war.

 

[A Time for Every Purpose]

scum. the lot of em. Those men who went off to fight Nazism in Europe should have been the ones we hailed as heroes in this country, not people shooting policemen in the back of the head.



Good on him! Honestly, it's people like that which stop me from giving up on this place entirely! Despite where we are politically and where we have come since 1916 theres still a good lot of good decent folk in this country.

You have a perverted idea of the truth as the world knows,except those who still support the English Establishment.

 

[devnull]

I think neutrality was the wrong decision, but this thread is stupid.

Any British soldier who deserted in order to join a foreign army would expect to be court-martialed on his return.
The British take desertion from their army extremely seriously - under their laws the maximum penalty is life imprisonment.

 

[SlabMurphy]

The book also details how an Irish Naval captain took an Irish ship, which he'd had out on sea trials, to Dunkirk to help with the evacuation.... in secret of course.

If an Irish captain took a ship to Dunkirk it should have been to fire upon the Brits.

Robert Widders

Check the author out on line. His autobiography is called....wait for it "A Few Deeds Short Of A Hero". How can you take this guy seriously?

Yes indeed. Sounds like the Eoghan Harris school of history. Should be up there with Dev was a British spy, Collins was gay, John Lennon was shot by the CIA etc

 

[Fir Bolg]

Some loon headed Spanish-American bitch, who totally shat his pants in Bolands Mill, was exiling Irishmen on account of their bravery, it's a disgrace, you're all in favour of it? They went to stop the whole archipelago being overrun with Nazi f*cks and you think it was right to exile them?

So now you know what motivated all those that deserted to another army?

While Dev may have been useless in 1916, he still was brave enough to turn out that morning to take on the British in their own backyard, unlike many of his contempories.

 

[deiseguy]

Incidentally, should De Valera have been court martialed in 1916 for failing to fire a single shot in the Easter Rising from his cosy garrison in Bolands Flour Mills.............and at a time when the real battle of the Rising was being fought at Mount Street Bridge when a handful of volunteers confronted the Sherwood Forresters as they arrived off the ferry to quell the Rebellion.

Am I right in thinking Bolands Mills were only about 100 yards or so from the Volunteers Mt Street Bridge mini garrrison.

Dev must have heard the shooting, the fight of the Rising, and yet he sat on his posterior throughout.

Why should I be surprised ?

How could you expect the blind man to see anything.