[Martin Gleeson]

Hallo all,
NEUTRAL IRISH SHIPS SAILING IN ALLIED CONVOYS.
Interesting thread ! And a very difficult one to answer with complete clarity, at least concerning neutral Irish shipping. I am not a naval expert either, but do have a long-standing interest in such matters.
Firstly some background information that I believe is relevant to the topic. On the outbreak of the war in September 1939 the owners of many Irish-registered merchant ships, for various reasons, switched their vessels to the British registry. This development left Ireland with few cargo-carrying ships and none of the ocean-going variety. It caused severe problems and forced the Irish authorities and remaining Irish-based ship owners to use what were basically coasters and even masted schooners for long trips to Spain, Portugal and even further afield. Later of course some (VERY) second-hand ocean-going vessels were acquired by the new state-run company Irish Shipping Ltd. for the express purpose of bringing vital foodstuffs and supplies to Ireland.
Concerning the thorny question of neutral Irish ships sailing in British convoys. I have found nothing - so far - to suggest this practice was sanctioned by the Irish government. Rather it appears to have been authorised or requested by the ship's owners. Referring back to the points in the above paragraph it is worth recalling that the Irish ships were small and perhaps for fear of breakdown or attack sailing with other vessels initially perhaps seemed to be the best option. Nor were Irish-registered ships ever armed. However the traumatic experiences of the crews of two Limerick-based ships sailing with the OG 71 and HG 73 convoys in August and September 1941 caused Irish ship's captains to recommend to the owners to stop sailing in British convoys. By early 1942 such sailings has ceased. Indeed there were a number of occasions when crews of Irish-registered ships refused to sail with a British convoy, preferring to sail independently.
It is difficult for me to say this, but Irish ships sailing in Allied convoys were a legitimate target for the Axis. Also when in convoy no U-boat or aircraft could have identified them as Irish. However I do not hold the same view for Irish ships sailing independently. These could, in a majority of cases, be identified as neutral by German aircraft or U-boat crews; and still many attacks and sinkings took place.
I have found no evidence yet that Irish ships sailed in British convoys during 1939 or 1940. The practice probably only began during 1941 after the introduction of the so-called 'Navicert' system by the British in January of that year. In brief Irish ships sailing to or from certain countries (especially Spain and Portugal) had to be licensed by the British authorities to do so. Failure to hold a navicert meant an Irish ship could not pass Allied patrols or receive help or stores in Allied ports. This especially applied to Irish vessels going to or coming from Spain and Portugal. The navicert system further required Irish ships en route to these countries to stop in Britain first in order to load coal and transport it to Lisbon for the British ! This arrangement suited both sides of course. On the return voyage to Ireland the ship had first to call at Fishguard for examination by the British authorities. Irish ship's captains were issued with detailed routing instructions by the British and were forbidden to sail in the Bay of Biscay or east of 12 degrees W on pain of being attacked on sight by Allied forces.
While it does not seem Irish ships under the navicert system were required to sail in a British convoy it probably facilitated this practice for both the British authorities and the ship's owners. Having said that most voyages by Irish-registered ships were independent sailings. The navicert system was withdrawn on 27 April 1944 before the D-Day landings for security reaasons. The Irish ships engaged on the Iberian trade routes ceased doing so and apparently for the rest of the war sailed between Ireland and Britain.
By that time however the new Irish Shipping Ltd. was sailing regularly to North America and elsewhere. To date I can only find one case of an Irish-registered ship sailing with a trans-Atlantic convoy. Almost all trans-Atlantic trips by Irish ships were independent sailings. Crews received a bonus for these and indeed vessels sailing alone could make more voyages per year than when travelling by convoy. Hence more bonus payments for the crews and more shiploads of goods for the country. (A 'win-win' situation I think it is called !). As far as I can tell the bonus payments only began in 1942 and may not have been universal. Neutral vessels sailing alone across the Atlantic journeyed on a special route reserved for them.
The foregoing is my interpretation of information from several sources. In particular the excellent 'THE LONG WATCH' (WW2 and the Irish Mercantile Marine) (2nd edit., 2000) by Frank Forde. Also several volumes of Irish foreign policy documents up to January 1941 and a detailed study of documents in our Military Archives relating to attacks on Irish-registered ships from 1940 to 1944.
Mark. Forgive me for repeating some of the points you made earlier. I know you are carrying out detailed research yourself on the maritime war around Ireland.
Hope the above helps.
Martin Gleeson.