Spying on Ireland : British intelligence and Irish neutrality during the Second World War / Eunan O'Halpin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Halpin, Eunan.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World War, 1939-1945--Ireland.

World War, 1939-1945.

World War, 1939-1945--Secret service--Great Britain.

Espionage--Ireland--History--20th century.

Espionage.

Neutrality--Ireland.

Neutrality.

History.

Ireland.

Physical Description:

xxi, 335 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2008.

Summary:

Irish neutrality during the Second World War presented Britain with significant challenges to her security. Exploring how British agencies identified and addressed these problems, this book reveals how Britain simultaneously planned sabotage in and spied on Ireland, and at times sought to damage the neutral state's reputation internationally through black propaganda operations. It analyses the extent of British knowledge of Axis and other diplomatic missions in Ireland, and shows the curcial role of diplomatic code-breaking in shaping British policy. The book also underlines just how much Ireland both interested and irritated Churchill throughout the war.

Rather than viewing this as a uniquely Anglo-Irish experience, Eunan O'Halpin argues that British activities concerning Ireland should be placed in the wider context of intelligence and security problems that Britain faced in other neutral states, particularly Afghanistan and Persia. Taking a comparative approach, he illuminates how Britain dealt with challenges in these countries through a combination of diplomacy, covert gathering of intelligence, propaganda, and intimidation. The British perspective on issues in Ireland becomes far clearer when discussed in terms of similar problems Britain faced with neutral states worldwide.

Drawing heavily on British and American intelligence records, many disclosed here for the first time, Eunan O'Halpin presents the first country study of British intelligence to describe and analyse the impact of all the secret agencies during the war. He casts fresh light on British activities in Ireland, and on the significance of both espionage and intelligence cooperation for developing wider relations between the two countries.

Contents:

1 Britain's Irish security problem, 1922-1939 1

2 Phoney war, phoney spies: September 1939-April 1940 46

3 Invasion fears: May 1940-June 1941 88

4 From Barbarossa to Torch: July 1941-December 1942 163

5 Preparation for Overlord: January-December 1943 215

6 Anomalous, benighted backwater: January 1944 to the late 1940s 247.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [306]-316) and index.

ISBN:

9780199253296

0199253293

OCLC:

180204988