Irish Mercantile Marine during World War II
The Irish Mercantile Marine during World War II continued essential overseas trade in the conflict, a period referred to as The Long Watch by Irish mariners.
Irish merchant shipping saw to it that vital imports continued to arrive and exports, mainly food supplies to Great Britain, were delivered. Irish ships sailed unarmed and usually alone, identifying themselves as neutrals with bright lights and by painting the Irish tricolour and EIRE in large letters on their sides and decks. Nonetheless, twenty percent of seamen serving in Irish ships perished, victims of a war not their own: attacked by both sides, though predominantly by the Axis powers. Often, Allied convoys did not stop to pick up survivors, while Irish ships regularly answered SOS signals and stopped to rescue survivors, irrespective of which side they belonged to. Irish ships rescued 534 seamen.
At the outbreak of World War II, known as "The Emergency", Ireland declared neutrality and became more isolated than ever before. Shipping had been neglected since the Irish War of Independence. Foreign ships, on which Ireland's trade had hitherto depended, were less available; neutral American ships would not enter the "war zone". In his Saint Patrick's Day address in 1940, Taoiseach Éamon de Valera lamented:
"No country had ever been more effectively blockaded because of the activities of belligerents and our lack of ships..."
Ireland was a net food exporter. The excess was shipped to Britain. The Irish Mercantile Marine ensured that Irish agricultural, and other, exports reached Britain, and that British coal arrived in Ireland. Some foods such as wheat, citric fruits and tea were imported. Ireland depended on, mainly, British tankers for petroleum. Initially Irish ships sailed in British convoys. In the light of experience they chose to sail alone, relying on their neutral markings. German respect for that neutrality varied from friendly to tragic.
"Cross-channel" trade, between Ireland and Britain, was from both national perspectives, the most important Irish trade route. Irish ships crossed the Atlantic on a route defined by the Allies: a line from Fastnet Rock to the Azores and then along the line of latitude at 38° North. Ships on the "Lisbon-run", imported wheat and fruits from Spain and Portugal, as well as goods transhipped from the Americas. They followed the line of longitude at 12° West, while Allied convoys to Gibraltar were 20° West.
There were never more than 800 men, at any one time, serving on Irish ships in the war.
Background
Following independence in 1921, there was no state encouragement to develop the mercantile marine. "Our new leaders seemed to turn their backs upon the sea and to ignore the fact that we are an island". Each year the fleet declined. In 1923, the merchant fleet consisted of 127 ships. This number dropped every year until 1939 when, at the start of World War II, the fleet numbered only 56 ships. Only 5% of imports were carried on Irish flagged vessels. There were several reasons for this decline: a consequence of the war of independence, a policy of self-sufficiency, the economic depression, the lack of investment and government neglect. Foreign ships, on which Ireland had hitherto depended, were withdrawn. "In the period April 1941 and June 1942 only seven such ships visited the country".The war of independence, and the civil war which followed it, left the country in near economic collapse. There had been destruction of industry and infrastructure. Many industries relocated abroad. It was often cheaper to transport by sea, within Ireland, rather than using the poor road and rail networks. To take advantage of this commercial opportunity, new coasters were acquired in the 1930s, intended to ply between Irish ports. These ships would be invaluable once hostilities began. Many of these small coasters were lost, particularly on the "Lisbon run", a voyage for which they were never intended.
The then Taoiseach Éamon de Valera advocated a policy of self-sufficiency. Foreign imports were discouraged. "It was an important status symbol in the modern world for a country to produce her own goods and be self-sufficient."
File:Menapia.jpg|thumb|Menapia leaving São Tomé November 1943 with a cargo of palm oil, an 8,000 mile voyage for a ship. – Oil by Kenneth King – Straid Studio Glencolmcille
The global economic depression of the early 1930s affected Ireland less because of the partial recovery following the civil war and because industry was protected behind tariff barriers established in the Anglo-Irish Trade War. The need for extra sea capacity was readily met by British and other foreign ships. Foreign ships were used, rather than preserving the home fleet. Banks were reluctant to lend to Irish industry, preferring British government gilts.
Although there was state support for many industries, this did not extend to shipping. In 1933 de Valera's government established the Turf Development Board, turf became Ireland's primary source of fuel during the emergency years and was stockpiled as imported coal was in short supply. In 1935 civil servants in de Valera's own department warned him of the consequences a war would have on the importation of fuel. He ignored that warning. Earlier, in 1926 the Ports and Harbours Tribunal was initiated. The tribunal received "abundant evidence" of "inefficient, uneconomic and extravagant management". It submitted a report in 1930 with recommendations which were not implemented until after the war. The tribunal observed "the public generally do not, we fear, appreciate the importance of our harbours...". Vickers-Armstrongs liquidated their subsidiary Vickers Ltd. on 15 November 1938; their Dublin Dockyard had ceased operation in 1937.
On 2 September 1939 the "realisation dawned on Ireland that the country was surrounded by water and that the sea was of vital importance to her". By this point, however, British wartime restrictions on shipping were already in place. Historian Bryce Evans has argued that the failure of Seán Lemass and others to establish an Irish mercantile marine in the 1930s would exacerbate Irish supply problems in the Second World War.
Response
as Minister for Industry and Commerce, and later Minister for Supplies sought to address these issues. Many infant industries were developed in the 1930s behind a protective tariff barrier. These industries proved valuable in the war years. They reduced the need for imports, for example in 1931 over five million pairs of shoes were imported, by 1938 this had fallen to a quarter of a million pairs. Between 1931 and 1938, Gross Industrial Output rose from £55 million to £90 million; and Industrial Employment from 162,000 to 217,000. In 1933 the government established the Industrial Credit Corporation to finance industry. In 1938, Life Assurers were required to hold their reserves in Ireland, to make capital available for industry; promptly five of the six UK providers closed, lodging their business with Irish Assurance. Private enterprises established included: Grain Importers Ltd., Animal Feed Stuffs Ltd., Fuel Importers Ltd., Oil and Fats Ltd., Timber Importers Ltd., and Tea Importers Ltd. Industry was encouraged, such as the plans for Irish National Refineries Ltd. to build an oil refinery. The former Vickers repair yard in Dublin port was reopened, in 1940, by the Dublin Port and Docks Board. It repaired British and Irish ships. Semi-state enterprises were established, including Irish Shipping in 1941 which purchased nine vessels and leased six more.War declared
At the outbreak of the Second World War Ireland declared neutrality. There were a total of 56 Irish ships at the outbreak of World War II; 15 more were purchased or leased in the conflict, and 16 were lost. Up to then most Irish-registered ships had been flying the red ensign of the United Kingdom Merchant Navy. All were required by UK law to fly the Red Ensign, but some, such as the Wexford Steamship Company ships, had always travelled under the tricolour. With the outbreak of hostilities, choices were forced. The Irish government ordered all Irish ships to fly the tricolour. Some British ships were on the Irish register, such as the whalers which were Scottish-owned but Irish-registered in order to take advantage of the Irish whale quota. The six whale catchers and the two factory ships were pressed into British naval service, after their owners transferred them to the British registry. Some ships which could be described as British also choose the Tricolour. Kerrymore, which was registered as belonging to R McGowan of Tralee, was actually owned by Kelly Colliers of Belfast. Most of the crew had addresses in loyalist areas of Belfast. For six years they sailed under the tricolour.The British and Irish Steam Packet Company's which operated the Dublin to Liverpool route, flew the tricolour. But, no flag was a protection against mines; Munster struck a mine approaching Liverpool and sank. There were over 200 passengers and 50 crew on board. A few hours later they were all rescued by the collier Ringwall. Four were injured; and one died later. The L&NWR ferries Cambria, Hibernia and Scotia were Irish-registered and sailed between Dún Laoghaire and Holyhead, under the Red Ensign. Their British crews were taken aback when the tricolour was hoisted. They went on strike and refused to sail until the ships were transferred to the British registry and red ensign was restored. Scotia was sunk in the Dunkirk evacuation with the loss of 30 crew and 300 troops. Hibernia had a fortunate escape on the night of 20 December 1940. She was berthing at Dún Laoghaire when a German bomber swooped down. All lights were extinguished. Bombs fell on the nearby Sandycove railway station. The GWR ferries operated the Rosslare to Fishguard route sailed under the red ensign. Thirty lives were lost when their Saint Patrick was bombed and sunk. The British and Irish Steam Packet Company had some of its ships on the British registry with others on the Irish registry.