Evening star., 1940-07-13
Irish Defense Crisis

Willie preparing against Cne lmml-
nent danger of German invasion,
Great Britain's attention is seriously
diverted to the turbulent island on
her west. across the Irish Sea. The
strategic problems involved, grave
enough in themselves, are aggra-
waited by the irreconcilable political
grievances and territorial barriers
separating neutral Fire and North
ern Ireland. Ulster, as part and
parcel of the United Kingdom,
regards itself as fully at war with
Germany, as the rest of the British
Commonwealth of Nations.
In the interest of common defense,
the British government has labored
desperately to produce some work.
able and mutually acceptable agree
ment between the hostile regimes
In Dublin and Belfast. London's
efforts have apparently ended in
definite failure. Prime Minister de
Valera refuses to consider any joint
defense with Ulster unless Irish par
tition is ended, demanding that
the six northern counties renounce
their allegiance to the British crown
by joining the twenty-six counties
Of Fire. Downing Street, long op-
posed to such program, has brought
pressure to bear on listers die-hard
premier, Lord Craigavon. to Coop
crate with Dublin in an all-Ireland
defense plan, even on De Valera's
union terms. But so long as Fires
neutrality is maintained, the un-
yielding fisherman declares, fusion
of the northern counties with the
Free State is out of the question.
1t now becomes necessary for the
Churchill cabinet to formulate its
own plans to frustrate an attempted
invasion of Ireland. Fires vulner-
ability is fully recognized in London.
1t Is woefully undefended, possessing
only the merest skeleton of an air
force and hardly more than single
division of trained soldiers. The one
bright spot in an otherwise almost
hopeless situation is that Fires rival
political party leaders have buried
the hatchet and joined forces to
raise one hundred thousand defense
volunteers. Britain's effort to repel
invasion of Ireland may have to be
by way of Ulster.
Germany, throughout the years of
her plans to smash the British EN-
pire, has always figured on a rebel
lious Ireland. During the World War
these hopes proved utterly illusory.
With the exception Of a Sir Roger
Easement here and there, John
Bulls other island remained loyal.
1t contributed a liberal quota Of
fighting men to the armies of the
King. Since then the Irish Free
State has come into existence, but
with a maximum of independence,
manifested on the present occasion
by its refusal to consider itself obli-
gated to make war on Britain's
enemies. Fire is ready to defend its
own soil, but not as the comrade in
arms Of the mother country"
The De Valera government, of
course, realizes that single-handed
Fire is helpless to safeguard its neu-
trality should the Nazis attack
Southern Ireland as a preliminary
to invasion of Great Britain. Hope,
therefore, must not be abandoned
that when the brave and patriotic
Irish people weigh the possible con-
sequences Of abstention from Brit
aims cause they will come to
appreciate, before 1t is too late, what
such an attitude may lead to. In
case of British defeat, it could hardly
mean anything less than the extinc-
ton Of their own independence.
They would suffer the agonies which
have befallen other defenseless VIC
TINS of Nazi blitzkrieg. The differ
ences between Ulster and Fire would
then be but a sad and insignificant
memory, for they would have shared
a common and perhaps irretrievable
fate.