The eleventh instalment of Documents on Irish Foreign Policy, covering the period 1957 to 1961, was launched on 13 November by An Tánaiste, Simon Coveney TD in Iveagh House. It covers the period when Éamon de Valera stepped down as Taoiseach, to be replaced by Seán Lemass. This was at the height of the Cold War, when, despite Ireland’s neutrality, the Department of External Affairs (as it was then called) prepared for Ireland actually being involved in a potential third world war (these preparations included plans to arm Irish diplomats in danger zones in case of public unrest).

In the late fifties and early sixties the Department also had to grapple with legacies of the Second World War, such as whether the former Nazi paratroop commander Otto Skorzeny (best known for rescuing the Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini) should be given an Irish residence permit. Here Minister for External Affairs Frank Aiken prevailed over the Department of Justice, and Skorzeny never received authorisation to reside permanently in Ireland.

The years from 1957 to 1961 also marked the heyday of Ireland’s activism at the United Nations, with Ireland playing a central role on issues ranging from nuclear disarmament to apartheid to the discussion of the admission of Communist China. The volume includes documents on the ‘China vote’, nuclear non-proliferation, and an account of Frederick Boland, whilst President of the UN General Assembly, breaking his gavel whilst trying to call Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to order.

Significantly, the volume also covers the years in which Irish Defence Forces personnel first participated in peacekeeping missions with the United Nations in Africa and the Middle East. These include proof that the UN approved Conor Cruise O’Brien’s taking the organisation to war in Congo’s Katanga province and documents on the Niemba Ambush (November 1960), and the fighting at Jadotville and Elisabethville (September 1961).

A constant theme through the volume is Ireland’s desire to become involved in European integration, a policy vigorously pursued by Lemass. The volume includes the high-level diplomacy surrounding Ireland first application for membership of the European Economic Community in 1961, with some striking parallels to Brexit – striking in that the parallels with Brexit are clear, except that the question asked is ‘What if Ireland is out and Britain is in?’  There’s mention of a border down the Irish Sea, the status of Northern Ireland, that separate trade agreements between North and South and Ireland and the UK are possible, and that London thought little about Ireland (north and south) in undertaking entry to the EEC.

Alongside such key topics are documents dealing with a wide range of others: the prospect of the deposed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista taking refuge in Ireland, overseas adoptions of Irish children, Irish diplomats’ views on the election of John F. Kennedy, the Cold War context of Irish-Soviet (non)-relations, Frank Aiken’s distrust of public opinion in foreign policymaking, the Irish embassy in London’s views on race relations in Britain, Ireland’s first diplomatic moves in Africa, and links between the Defence Forces G2 and MI6 and the CIA.

Using original declassified documents from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade‘s archive, the volume pieces together as no other source can, the top-level decision making by Minister for External Affairs Frank Aiken, Taoiseach Seán Lemass and Irish diplomats such as Frederick Boland and Conor Cruise O’Brien that saw Ireland come to play a central role on the world stage.

Documents on Irish Foreign Policy Volume XI, 1957-61 is available to buy now.

Image: L-R Prof. M. Peter Kennedy (President, RIA), Dr Kate O’Malley (Assistant Editor, DIFP), Prof. Eunan O’Halpin MRIA, An Tánaiste, Simon Coveney TD, Dr Michael Kennedy (Executive Editor, DIFP), Prof. Bernadette Whelan MRIA, Ms Fiona Flood (DFAT).

The recent heatwave unveiled traces of a diverse range of ancient archaeological remains across the country, but another consequence of the hot weather (a gorse fire on Bray Head) revealed a remnant of the more recent past. The WW2-era ‘Éire’ sign recently spotted by the Air Corps (and pictured above) is one of over 80 that were dotted around the Irish coast during the ‘Emergency’, and some of them can be seen in this gallery of images of Irish lighthouses from the 1940s, held by the Military Archives. The sign on Bray Head naturally got a good deal of attention, so here is a short overview of the origins of the signs, along with a few pointers for those who want to find out more.

The ‘Éire’ signs were erected around the Irish coastline from the summer of 1943 onwards, a period when overflights of Irish territory and forced landings of belligerent aircraft (mainly Allied) had increased dramatically. In keeping with the De Valera government’s policy of discreetly co-operating with the Allies, Allied air crews who landed in Ireland were assumed to be ‘non-operational’, and therefore were not detained (a fact that the Germans noted with displeasure). It made more sense to all concerned, however, if such forced landings could be avoided and so the ‘Éire’ signs were erected to ensure that pilots knew that they were flying over Irish territory.

The US Minister in Dublin, David Gray, claimed that lobbying from the US delegation had contributed to the decision to erect them. This may have been over-egging the matter, but as early as June 1943 the US Air Force requested that the numbers of nearby lookout posts (such as the one at Dursey Head pictured above) be added to the signs. The numbers offered more precise directions to Allied navigators; the Germans were never informed of them. The original signs were uneven in size, but in summer 1944 they were reconfigured into a standard format: twelve metres long and six metres high, with a rectangular border. Whitewashed stone was used. And the remains of many of them can still be located around the coast.

If the recent media coverage of the uncovering of the Bray sign has piqued your interest Treasa Lynch’s site EIRE signs of WWII offers an excellent overview of the signs. It is worth exploring in tandem with Tim Schmelzer’s photographic project lookoutpost. And for more details of the air and naval conflict off the Irish coast and how it impacted on Ireland, Michael Kennedy’s Guarding neutral Ireland will fill in any gaps. Enjoy!

Image of Bray Head courtesy of Irish Defence Forces. Image of Dursey Head courtesy of Michael Kennedy.