The German Plan for Eire
It is now proved by enemy documents disFovered near Brussels that Eire's policy of neutrality has jeopardised her independence— the threat coming, of course, from Germany, not Britain. It is through no exertions of her own Government that she is still a free country. The documents show that the German military authorities were preparing for the invasion of Eire in August, 5940, many months after Mr. de Valera had declared his intention of remaining neutral. She was saved, as we were saved, by British Spitfires who won the Battle of Britain, and by the British Fleet which held the seas: To a question put in the House of Commons on Tuesday the Under- Secretary for the Dominions naturally replied that no further repre- sentation would be made to Eire's Government. It is enough that the people of Eire know that they were entertaining German diplo- matic agents in Dublin—as they still are—at a time when Germany was planning attack on them and us, and that during the whole period of the U-boat offensive Eire's denial of bases to Britain added greatly to the danger which she shared with us. There are States in Europe which have clung to their neutrality because to abandon it would have exposed them to the probability, in some cases the certainty, of being over-run by Germany. That was not the case of Eire. In her case to remain neutral was to weaken Britain and so increase the danger to herself. To have abandoned neutrality would have been to aid in her own self-defence, and would have exposed her to no risks which she has not incurred, in any case except that she might have experienced some aerial bombardments. As things are, Eire remains an independent State—in spite of the help she has given, and is giving, to her would-be destroyer.
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