Sir, – Perhaps the question of Irish neutrality during the second World War is best settled by those whose side we were supposed to be on.
The British prime minister at the time, Winston Churchill, believed southern Ireland was neutral, and was furious about it; his deputy, who handled day-to-day administration (and was prime minister from 1945), Clement Attlee, responded on hearing that the South was leaving the Commonwealth with what can best be described as an attitude of good riddance.
The US ambassador at the time, perhaps not a dispassionate witness, was famously angry at the South’s stance. The Russians barred Irish entry to the UN because of its position during the war. If Southern Ireland were really on their side, it did a very good job of keeping it from people who might be expected to know. – Yours, etc,
EOIN DILLON,
Ceannt Fort,
Mount Brown,
Dublin 8.