World War II Ireland

Rain Over Me

In the uk, parts of the military structures from WWII can be seen still such as pillboxes, listening stations and czech hedgehogs etc, Did Ireland have any such fortifications in WWII and if so, are they still visible today and where?

citizen_p

a thread you might be interested in
WW2 pillboxes in Ireland

there was fortifications but no where near what happened in the UK. Link
theres a pillbox near my house defending a bridge which was built in the late 30's early 40's, its not on any maps.

homebrew.ie

There's a WWII small bomb shelter in Templemore behind where the rich people used to live. There's also an old ammunition factory in Arklow from WWII. Not quite the same but we were supposed to be neutral.

museologist

Eire was a the most militarily weak of the neutral countries during WW2 so there was never all that much in terms of buildings etc to begin with. I remember a concrete pill box which could provide an arc of fire over the port, railway line and at Rosslare Harbour, but I'm not sure it is still there. There was another outside the railway station at Waterford City which only disappeared in the last few years.

The most visible constructions extant from the period are the 80+ Look Out Posts (LOPs) on headlands from Bellurgan in County Louth in the Irish Sea to Malin Head in County Donegal. These were controlled by the Army and they monitored all activity on the Irish coast in anticipation of invasion. Some of them of have disappeared, like the one at Hook Head, County Wexford, while others like the one I see regularly at Loop Head, County Clare are slowly decaying. There is plenty of information about them on the internet I believe.

Hope that helps.

Stovepipe

You should look up our Coastal Forts, which are very substantial complexes, especially the Forts in Cork and were very heavily armed, with 9.2 inch and six-inch and other guns.
regards
Stovepipe

northkildare

some grave yards have the nazi sign on the headstones where bombers crashed and died in ireland,

Ireland never really had a problem with germany that time cos germany supported the IRA and you never heard of any irish in the death camps across europe, plus germans liked the irish unlike now

museologist

northkildare wrote: »

some grave yards have the nazi sign on the headstones where bombers crashed and died in ireland,

Ireland never really had a problem with germany that time cos germany supported the IRA and you never heard of any irish in the death camps across europe, plus germans liked the irish unlike now

At risk of going off topic here, in fact the Irish Government had a major problem with both Germany and the UK because of the threat of invasion and also because they suspected the IRA were in contact with the Nazis. Consequently, the Emergency Powers Act was used to ruthlessly put them down. It is well covered in 'In Time of War' by Robert Fisk - a bit out of date but a great read.

Jim S

Fisk's book is still a good read, a paperback edition is still to be had.

Ireland was rather more Pro-Allied than some of the wartime propaganda would indicate, the age old idea of German submarines taking on fuel in Irish waters and isolated bays is a product of that propaganda.
(Whilst the very real help given to Allied aircrew who crashed in Ireland is proof positive of Ireland's position).