Between 1940 and 1945 a total of 269 Axis and 45 Allied service personnel were interned in the Curragh military camp in County Kildare. Their presence caused the de Valera government a series of challenging problems, as it sought to balance its duties as a neutral country with its continual tendency to lean towards the Allies. This talk examines the background and details of the military internment system in neutral Ireland during the Second World War, as well as exploring some of the myths that have grown up around it.

Dr Bernard Kelly completed his PhD in NUI Galway and postdoctoral work at the University of Edinburgh. He was previously a Historian in Residence for Dublin City Council and is currently Fingal County Council’s Research Historian.