Irish secrets : German espionage in Ireland, 1939-1945 / Mark M. Hull

Includes bibliographical references and index

Background to the German Intelligence Service -- Germany and Ireland, 1933-39 -- Pre-war intelligence contacts -- German agent activities, 1939-40 -- A busy summer: Ireland and Operation Sealion -- German agent activities, 1941-42 -- German Intelligence operations, 1943 -- Irish in Germany -- Agents in custody -- The end of the Abwehr

Tells the little-known history of German military espionage activity in Ireland - despite Ireland's neutral stance - before and during World War II. It details illicit contacts between officers of the Abwehr (German Military Intelligence)and leaders of the Irish Republican Army with the intent of coordinating actions against British targets and the Irish State. The book also examines the extent of pro-German support in Ireland, the fledgling Nazi party in Ireland, and the activities of Irish civilians and diplomats abroad who offered to serve Hitler's Germany. It scrutinizes the personalities and mission profiles of the eleven German agents (from both the Abwehr and the SS intelligence service, the SD) who operated with widely varying degrees of success on Irish soil, and unearths the stories of previously unknown German operatives and Irish supporters. Many of the most compelling scenarios revolve around the use of recruited Irish nationals for espionage work, some details of which are still classified by the British and Irish governments. The book explores why German intelligence ultimately failed, and proposes that the German effort represented a genuine menace to the Irish State and the Allies alike, which seriously threatened the official position of Irish neutrality