> I’m still pissed off at their neutrality during WWII.
Why? They had nothing to gain by helping the UK out. And everything to lose by helping the Germans.
They weren’t really neutral. Prime Minister Eamon de Valera actually sent condolences to Germany upon hearing of Adolf’s demise. Ireland’s envoy to Nazi Germany, Charles Bewley, also happened to sport a toothbrush mustache.
The U.K. was financially and militarily exhausted when Ireland waged its war for independence. In 1940 and 1941, British armed forces were at full strength. Reconquest of Ireland would have been relatively easy. Churchill would not have hesitated if Ireland joined the Axis. The large Irish American population would have been outraged by British reconquest, but the Japanese dragged us into World War II anyway.