DeV helped the British crush the IRA

summerskin

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12848272

"Some in Ireland may well have suspected at that time that their government was secretly co-operating closely with Britain, a country many still considered their enemy.
Yet only now can such suspicions be confirmed.
What, one wonders, might the consequences have been for Eamon de Valera, had his people known then what has come out now?
Donnacha Obeachain is a lecturer in Politics at Dublin City University and the author of a book on Fianna Fail and Irish Republicanism:
"It certainly would have undermined De Valera's image of being the pristine Republican leader who had heroically and unstintingly challenged the British. I think it would have been difficult for him to present that image, and it's something that he treasured.
"The publicity of such co-operation would be very detrimental to De Valera's image and therefore his electoral prospects."
As it was, Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Eamon de Valera continued a long and successful career in Irish politics.
He won eight elections over the period of the 1930s, 40s and 50s and ended his career as president of Ireland between 1959 and 1973, when - at the age of 90 - he was the oldest head of state in the world.
As for the IRA, it was a spent force for the next 20 years until it came back with another bombing campaign - this time targeted at Northern Ireland."


An interesting little story, so is DeV a hero or villain?

Sonics2k

Inb4 rage fest

Mr Benevolent

DeV also founded Boards. That makes him a hero in my book.

kraggy

Don't have time to read the link, but from what you quoted in the op, there's nothing to state that he helped the British crush the IRA.

Cooperation with the Brits might simply mean secret discussions to facilitate the transfer of power from the British to the Irish.

stovelid

BRITS OUT

prinz

Old news.

Morlar

The only new part of that (to me at least) seems to be the attempt to smear Sean Russel as being pro-communist.

summerskin

kraggy wrote: »

Don't have time to read the link, but from what you quoted in the op, there's nothing to state that he helped the British crush the IRA.

Cooperation with the Brits might simply mean secret discussions to facilitate the transfer of power from the British to the Irish.

ah you see, that's why you should have read the link.

n 1939, as the documents show, De Valera's government asked for assistance from London in smearing IRA chief of staff Sean Russell as a communist agent: Continue reading the main story Document

• Newly released British secret memo

"It is believed that some 10 or 12 years ago, he was in Soviet pay as an agitator; If there is any information which could be made available to show that this was the case, or that at the present time he is in receipt of pay from foreign sources, it would be of the greatest possible assistance to the Dublin authorities in dealing with him since it would practically eliminate the risk of him being treated as a patriotic martyr…."
Dublin also called on London to consult them on sentences imposed on IRA members convicted of the bombings in Britain.
De Valera was worried that those executed at British hands might become martyrs at home. But he had no such qualms over those convicted of bombings in Ireland.
In fact, De Valera's government executed more IRA members than Britain and even borrowed the UK's most famous executioner, Albert Pierrepoint, to hang one of them.
During the war, Dublin went on to intern more than 1,500 IRA suspects, and several died while on hunger strike in Irish jails.

RobbieTheRobber

I dont see how new documents released show this.

Wasn't this well known already

I mean we had internment caps during the emergency in the curragh for IRA members.

Latchy

Dev was most likley paranoid about a british invasion again and after 1916 /1922 wasn't going to loose it all or let anything or anybody get in the way of his 'vision' for Ireland .

prinz

Thread title is misleading also. Far more accurate to say Dev asked for British help to crush the IRA in light of the article.

Biggins

...Biggins gets popcorn again!

stovelid

I like this bit:

Sean Russell, who cared little for Nazi ideology, died aboard a German U-boat bound for Ireland in August 1940.

Not sure I would countenance some of the acts, but the IRA were still a threat to this state and capable of bringing us into serious conflict with Britain at that time not to mention trying to forge links with the Germans.

prinz

BRITS IN








Don't want Biggins' popcorn to go to waste.

tricky D

There was a lot more going on than just that stuff.

http://www.thepost.ie/archives/2006/1231/neutral-irelands-secret-war-19898.html

Son Of A Vidic

Nothing about that rat bastard would shock me, fond of his fund raising trips when the real fighting had to be done. Then sets up the man who had done the fighting to sign the treaty. A two faced traitor? Comes as no surprise really.

Biggins

stovelid wrote: »

BRITS OUT

prinz wrote: »

BRITS IN

Don't want Biggins' popcorn to go to waste.

:pac:

In, out, in, out, shake it all about... :pac:

stovelid

stovelid wrote: »

BRITS OUT

prinz wrote: »

BRITS IN

BRITS IN TWO MINDS TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH

:pac:

Copper23

summerskin wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12848272

"Some in Ireland may well have suspected at that time that their government was secretly co-operating closely with Britain, a country many still considered their enemy.
Yet only now can such suspicions be confirmed.
What, one wonders, might the consequences have been for Eamon de Valera, had his people known then what has come out now?
Donnacha Obeachain is a lecturer in Politics at Dublin City University and the author of a book on Fianna Fail and Irish Republicanism:
"It certainly would have undermined De Valera's image of being the pristine Republican leader who had heroically and unstintingly challenged the British. I think it would have been difficult for him to present that image, and it's something that he treasured.
"The publicity of such co-operation would be very detrimental to De Valera's image and therefore his electoral prospects."
As it was, Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Eamon de Valera continued a long and successful career in Irish politics.
He won eight elections over the period of the 1930s, 40s and 50s and ended his career as president of Ireland between 1959 and 1973, when - at the age of 90 - he was the oldest head of state in the world.
As for the IRA, it was a spent force for the next 20 years until it came back with another bombing campaign - this time targeted at Northern Ireland."


An interesting little story, so is DeV a hero or villain?

So the claim was made without much or anything to back it up.
They Referred to Donnacha Obeachain, I presume they meant Donnacha O' Beachain or something.
And Dev was our "Prime Minister"

Journalism skills must not be required these days.

Sergeant

The modern Dev could do with ruthlessly crushing a few of the tiresome sorts who manage to destroy most of these type of threads.

Hank_Jones

Confab wrote: »

DeV also founded Boards. That makes him a hero in my book.

Before I opened the thread, I was like "Jesus, boards really is making an impact."

Go Dev!

Knight who says Meh

stovelid wrote: »

BRITS IN TWO MINDS TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH


Brits are from Brittany. Cheese eating surrender monkeys

:pac:

.

Stinicker

Just another Fianna Fail traitor, throughout their entire history Fianna Fail have worked against the Irish state. Scumbags from their very beginnings and the shooting of Collins up to the present day.

Celly Smunt

Stinicker wrote: »

Just another Fianna Fail traitor, throughout their entire history Fianna Fail have worked against the Irish state. Scumbags from their very beginnings and the shooting of Collins up to the present day.

yes,because the I.R.A were great fellows.

Notorious97

pmcmahon wrote: »

yes,because the I.R.A were great fellows.

The IRA in question are most likely some of the very ones who fought for this country, along side (not literally along side Dev as we all know he wasn’t the fighting type :pac:) Dev, so yes THEY WERE GREAT FELLOWS.

Celly Smunt

Notorious97 wrote: »

The IRA in question are most likely some of the very ones who fought for this country, along side (not literally along side Dev as we all know he wasn’t the fighting type :pac:) Dev, so yes THEY WERE GREAT FELLOWS.

I'm a unionist,please continue

Doodee

summerskin wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12848272


An interesting little story, so is DeV a hero or villain?

Villain, and always will be in my eyes.
Not for this, but for the majority of the things he did before and after he was in Power.

He didn't like what Collins had achieved and yet still took the position of Taoiseach year later.

He sent his condolences to the German people when Hitler died.

and he used foreign investments in agriculture instead of industry, to suit his own vision of what Ireland should be.

Notorious97

pmcmahon wrote: »

I'm a unionist,please continue

Nothing to continue, i was merely pointing out something, im well aware of your stance from other posts, so it wasn’t intended to provoke a stupid argument.

sensibleken

has any knob started giving out about the fact he was described as out prime minister yet?

Celly Smunt

HE WASN'T OUR F?*KING PRIME MINISTER YOU LITTLE /*&* ;'8&



how about that?

kraggy

stovelid wrote: »

BRITS IN TWO MINDS TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH

:pac:

They're between Rockall and a hard place