"Cub Driver" wrote in message
...

I'd be interested in any cites you can produce
for the claim that the Irish (presumably the
government?) put on extra lights to help German
bombers. It would have been a breach of neutrality
which would surprise me.

It would also have been an astonishing
waste of money, in a very lean
time, which would surprise me even more.

The Germans bombed Dublin by mistake once by a lone plane which dropped
bombs in a park or somewhere harmless. DeValera ordered all lights to
always remain on and added more. This clearly was not to protect Dublin at
all, it was a clear effective beacon to guide planes to Liverpool. The
people of Liverpool never forgave the Irish for what they did.

I'm sure the British were terribly annoyed that Ireland remained
neutral during WWII.

Not really.

Still, they got hundreds of thousands of Irish
workers and soldiers,

All paid for. The soldiers were volunteers. The Irish have a love hate
relationship with the British. Many ex IRA joined the British army, with
ready made useful gun skills, and no questions asked.

not to mention Irish greengoods and beef, and
any British or American airmen who went down
over the Republic were quietly returned across
the border to northern Ireland, so it really
worked out quite well in the end.

Returned? One escaped and the British sent him back, to enforce the neutral
relationship. On VE Day the students at Dublin university burnt the Irish
tricolour in disgust at Ireland standing by and doing nothing. Many Irish
were embarrassed at their stance in WW2.



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