Bombing of Dublin in World War II
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bombing of Dublin in World War II occurred on May 31, 1941, when amid World War II, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) bombed Dublin, the capital of neutral Ireland (Éire)[1], killing 34 persons.
Contents |
[edit] Background
At the beginning of the Second World War, Ireland declared its neutrality. After Germany’s military conquest of Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Low Countries, and France, the United Kingdom stood alone in fighting Germany. By May 1941, the German Air Force had bombed numerous cities in the United Kingdom, including Belfast in Northern Ireland. Thus, by virtue of the division of the island, Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom was at war, but the independent state of Ireland (Éire) was neutral.
[edit] Earlier German bombings of Éire
Despite its neutrality, Ireland (i.e., Éire; the island excluding Northern Ireland) had not been totally spared German air bombardment before the Dublin raid. Earlier bombing raids of Éire included:
- August 26, 1940, German bombs were dropped on County Wexford, the bombs hitting Duncormick and Ambrosetown did no discernible damage. However, a bomb hit a restaurant in Campile killing 3 persons. In 1943, the German government paid £9000 in compensation.
- December 20, 1940, German bombs hit Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, and Dun Laoghaire and the Sandycove railway station, both near Dublin. There were no fatalities, but 3 persons were injured.
- January 1, 1941, German bombs hit Duleek and Julianstown (both County Meath), without casualties.
- January 2, 1941, German bombs hit Terenure in Dublin, destroying several houses and injuring 7 persons, and Ballymurn (County Wexford) without casualties. Dublin itself (Fortfield Road) was hit, without damage or casualties, and the nearby and Curragh Racecourse was hit with incendiary devices, and other bombs hit County Wicklow. German bombs also destroyed a house in Knockroe (County Carlow), killing 3 persons.
[edit] The May 31, 1941 raid on Dublin
May 31 was a Friday preceding a Bank Holiday weekend. Just after midnight, the sound of approaching aircraft was heard in Dublin along with the sounds of bombs exploding in the distance, searchlights began sweeping the skies for the planes. At about 12.30 am, anti-aircraft batteries began shooting at the targets; this was in keeping with Ireland’s stated policy of armed neutrality. At 1.30 am, the first bombs began falling on Dublin. The bombs hit a mostly working-class area of Dublin, including the areas of the North Richmond Street, Rutland Place, Phoenix Park, the Dublin Zoo, and most especially hard hit, the North Strand. The raid claimed the lives of 34 persons[2], injured 90, destroyed or damaged approximately 300 houses, and left 400 persons homeless. Áras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of Irish President (Douglas Hyde at the time) was also damaged.
On June 5, a mass funeral was held for 12 of the victims; Éamon de Valera, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister), and other government officials attended. De Valera made a speech in the Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Irish Parliament) on the same day, recorded in the acta thus:
-
- Members of the Dáil desire to be directly associated with the expression of sympathy already tendered by the Government on behalf of the nation to the great number of our citizens who have been so cruelly bereaved by the recent bombing. Although a complete survey has not yet been possible, the latest report which I have received is that 27 persons were killed outright or subsequently died; 45 were wounded or received other serious bodily injury and are still in hospital; 25 houses were completely destroyed and 300 so damaged as to be unfit for habitation, leaving many hundreds of our people homeless. It has been for all our citizens an occasion of profound sorrow in which the members of this House have fully shared. (Members rose in their places.) The Dáil will also desire to be associated with the expression of sincere thanks which has gone out from the Government and from our whole community to the several voluntary organisations the devoted exertions of whose members helped to confine the extent of the disaster and have mitigated the sufferings of those affected by it. As I have already informed the public, a protest has been made to the German Government. The Dáil will not expect me, at the moment, to say more on this head.[3]
The then-West Germany accepted responsibility for the raid and by 1958 it paid compensation of £327,000. Over 2000 claims for compensation were processed by the Irish government, eventually costing £344,000.[4] East Germany and Austria, which were both part of Germany in 1941, made no contribution.
[edit] Cause of the raid
Several reasons for the raid have been asserted over time. Among the most discussed are: a navigational error; a deliberate attack in retaliation for Irish assistance to the victims of the Luftwaffe’s bombings of Belfast; a warning to Ireland not to assist Britain during the war or a deflection of radio beams on which the Luftwaffe relied.
The most readily apparent cause was a navigational error and mistaken target. Numerous large cities in the United Kingdom were targeted for bombing, including Belfast, which like Dublin is across the Irish Sea from Great Britain. Navigational error, equipment malfunction, or weather may have played a role. A pilot who was one of the pathfinders on the raid later recounted this as the cause of the raid.[5] War-time Germany’s acceptance of responsibility and post-war Germany’s payment of compensation are cited as further indications that the causation was error on the part of the Luftwaffe pilots.
Irish neutrality in the Second World War was stretched. In April 1941, Germany had launched the Belfast blitz. Belfast, in Northern Ireland and therefore part of the United Kingdom was bombed severely during April. In response, Ireland had sent rescue, fire, and emergency personnel to Belfast to assist the city, and De Valera formally protested the bombing to the German government and made his famous "they are our people" speech. Ireland's response must have seemed unexpected from a neutral state, and some have contended that the raid served as a warning to Ireland to keep out of the war. This contention was expanded upon by Colonel Edward Flynn, second cousin of Ireland's Minister for Coordination of Defensive Measures, who recalled to the press that Lord Haw Haw warned Ireland that Dublin's Amiens Street Railway Station, where a stream of refugees from Belfast was arriving, would be bombed. The station, now called Connolly Station, stands a few hundred meters from North Strand Road, where the bombing damage was heaviest. [5] He similarly contended that the German bombing of Dundalk on July 4 was pre-warned by Lord Haw Haw as a punishment for Dundalk being the point of shipment of Irish cattle sold to the United Kingdom.
After the war, Winston Churchill said that the British could interfere with radio signals that the Luftwaffe used to guide German planes to their targets, and some intelligence officials claimed that such interference caused the planes to hit Dublin. The technology, however, was not sufficiently well-developed by mid-1941 to have deflected planes from targets rather than making the planes unable to receive the signals.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] Subsequent German bombings of Éire
Even following the bombing of Dublin, German planes bombed other sites in Éire, including:
- June 2, 1941, Arklow was bombed by the luftwaffe.
- July 4, 1941, George’s Quay, Dundalk was bombed by the luftwaffe.
[edit] Notes
- ^ For the technical difference in the names of the Irish state, see Names of the Irish state
- ^ Sources differ on the number of fatalities, from 26 to 39, but 34 is the generally accepted total.
- ^ Dáil Éireann Volume 83 05 June, 1941
- ^ Dail statement on compensation, 1971
- ^ a b c Robert Fisk, Why the Nazis bombed Dublin, The Independent (London), January 24, 1999
[edit] References
- A blow-by-blow account of German bombings of Ireland during World War Two through the Dublin raid
- Robert Fisk, Why the Nazis bombed Dublin, The Independent (London), January 24, 1999
- D. O'Drisceoil, Censorship in Ireland 1939-1945 (ISBN 1859180744)
- T. Coogan, De Valera: Long Fellow, Short Shadow (ISBN 0099958600)
- J. Carroll, Ireland in the War Years (ISBN 0715367854)
