Irish Republican Army–Abwehr collaboration facts for kids
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was a group that wanted to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom. They also hoped to unite all of Ireland. During World War II, the IRA shared information with the Abwehr. This was the military intelligence service of Nazi Germany.
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Why did they work together?
Germany did not plan to invade Ireland during World War II. They had a plan called Operation Green. But this was mostly a way to distract enemies, not a real plan to take over Ireland.
Instead, Nazi Germany hoped Ireland would stay neutral. This meant Ireland would not pick a side in the war.
Germany lost the Battle of Britain. This battle was about gaining control of the skies over Great Britain. After this, Ireland became less important to Germany.
The IRA and Abwehr worked together in three main ways:
- They planned missions before the French campaign.
- They gathered information about weather and military technology in Britain.
- They tried to send German soldiers to join the IRA.
- They carried out political missions against Britain later in the war.
These plans often lacked good organization. Both groups also lacked the ability to carry out their plans well. Germany tried to build a strong relationship with the IRA. This led to two wartime missions. One involved Ernst Weber-Drohl and another Hermann Görtz. But later, the Abwehr tried to work without the IRA. Neither approach worked well. Many of their plans failed.
First contacts (1937–1939)
The Abwehr already had German agents in Ireland. One agent was Joseph Hoven. He was a student who spent time in Northern Ireland in 1938 and 1939. Hoven became friends with Tom Barry. Barry was an IRA member who had fought in the Anglo-Irish War. He was still active in the IRA. They met often to try and connect the IRA with Germany.
Barry became the IRA's Chief of Staff. In 1937, he visited Germany with Hoven. He wanted to build ties between the IRA and Germany.
When Barry returned to Ireland, he shared his ideas. This was called the "Barry Plan." It focused on attacking targets in Northern Ireland. But the IRA leaders rejected his plan. They chose a different plan instead. This plan was to attack targets only in Britain. It was called the S-Plan and was approved by Seán Russell.
Seán MacBride also had contact with a former German Army officer. This officer was named Bismarck. He was in Ireland in 1937 trying to sell armored cars. Con Lehane helped MacBride with ideas about the IRA joining the Irish military.
Working together (1939–1940)
In December 1938, the Abwehr in Hamburg found an English-speaking agent. His name was Oscar C. Pfaus. Around this time, the IRA started attacking targets in Britain. They did this on their own. Pfaus was given a mission:
- Find the IRA leaders.
- Ask if they wanted to work with Germany.
- If so, send someone to Germany to plan things.
Pfaus's mission was not about military actions. He could not talk about secret intelligence. Pfaus met with Hauptmann Friedrich Carl Marwede. Marwede was an Abwehr officer. Pfaus's contact in Ireland was Liam Walsh. Walsh was a former IRA member. He worked at the Italian Legation.
Pfaus met with IRA members on February 13, 1939. These included Moss Twomey, Sean Russell, and Seamus (Jim) O'Donovan. Pfaus could not answer all their questions. So, they decided to send an IRA person to Germany for talks. Russell chose O'Donovan to go. He hoped for German weapons, ammunition, and money.
Other meetings also took place. Eduard Hempel and three Nazi Party members were in Dublin. A meeting happened in County Donegal. Eoin O'Duffy, Seamus Burke, and Theodor Kordt helped arrange it. Another meeting was in Louisburgh, County Mayo. This was between Hempel, O'Duffy, and IRA members in August 1939.
Seamus O'Donovan's trips
O'Donovan spoke German. He made three trips to Germany in 1939. In February, he met with Friedrich Carl Marwede. They talked about how the IRA could help Germany during the war.
The Germans said they could not help the IRA with its S-Plan in Britain right away. They also wondered how the IRA would attack targets in Northern Ireland. And how they would get weapons to the group. O'Donovan returned to Ireland with these concerns. He was given the codename "V-Held" (Agent Hero).
He went back to Germany on April 26, 1939. This time, they talked about radio contact. They also discussed how to send messages and weapons. And where to find a safe house in London. By May 15, Russell had left for the United States. Stephen Hayes became the acting Chief of Staff.
O'Donovan's last meeting was in August 1939. He brought his wife. Joseph McGarrity, leader of Clan na Gael, also attended. O'Donovan's diary says he was with a German Foreign Ministry person. They talked about:
- Starting the English campaign again if war broke out.
- The IRA's abilities in England, Northern Ireland, and Ireland.
- What the Dublin government might do if Germany and Britain went to war.
- The IRA's military strength and what weapons they needed.
O'Donovan wrote that his hosts told him war would start "probably within one week." On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland.
Communication problems
The IRA got a radio transmitter from Joseph McGarrity. But it could not reach Germany. The IRA started using it for propaganda broadcasts. The Irish authorities quickly captured it on December 29, 1939. They also found proof of secret messages to Nazi Germany.
Even though the transmitter was captured, O'Donovan kept trying to listen to German broadcasts. He did this until he was put in prison in September 1941. Often, the radio signal was weak or blocked. Records show he tried to listen almost every day from January to September 1940.
- December 30, 1939 – No signal due to illness and indecision.
- January 24, 1940 – Bad conditions.
- February 14, 1940 – Morse receiver did not arrive. Plan stopped.
- March 9, 1940 – Almost perfect signal, but some jamming.
- March 13, 1940 – Untrained Morse operator. Got a number but no message.
Later missions
From 1937 on, every IRA Chief of Staff had some contact with the Germans. These contacts continued when Stephen Hayes was Chief of Staff. He offered Germany a plan called "Plan Kathleen" in 1940.
Hayes was later found to be a traitor to the IRA. This caused a power change within the group. It led to the failed Northern Campaign in 1942. The IRA's Northern Command knew about the German contacts. But they did not realize how weak these links were.
The IRA faced many restrictions during "The Emergency" (Ireland's name for WWII). Germany's luck in the war also changed. These things ended the connection between the IRA and Abwehr. The Abwehr still tried to operate in Ireland. But most of these plans failed or never even started. These attempts were made without the IRA's knowledge. The IRA was losing hope and military strength. They could no longer gather useful information.
Before 1940, the IRA wanted to help Germany against Britain. The IRA believed this would lead to a united Ireland. They did not like the policies of Éamon de Valera, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, or Joseph Stalin. The IRA wanted Britain to be defeated by Germany. They thought this would free Northern Ireland from British rule. The Abwehr encouraged this idea within the IRA. They tried to keep the weak connections alive, mostly through O'Donovan.
A big event that made Germany think the IRA was strong was the 1940 IRA arms raid on the Magazine Fort in Dublin. This gave Nazi Germany a wrong idea about the IRA's abilities. Also, the German agent Hermann Görtz failed to report full details about his meeting with IRA Chief of Staff Stephen Hayes. He had discussed Plan Kathleen. Because of these things, Germany learned the hard way. Through many failed missions, they realized the IRA was not as strong as they had hoped.
See also
German agents
- Adolf Mahr
- Hermann Görtz
- Günther Schütz
Irish contacts
- Stephen Hayes
- Seamus O'Donovan
- Seán Russell
Irish in Germany
- Frank Ryan (Irish republican)
- Friesack Camp
- John Codd
- Francis Stuart
Attempts at infiltration
