Ireland’s Helping Hand to Europe, 1945-1950; Combatting Hunger from Normandy to Tirana

Biography: Dr Jérôme aan de Wiel is lecturer in 20^th Century European History and European Studies in the School of History in University College Cork (UCC), Ireland. He is the author of The Catholic Church in Ireland, 1914-1918; War and Politics (2003), The Irish Factor, 1899-1919; Ireland’s Strategic and Diplomatic Importance for Foreign Powers (2008), Ireland Through European Eyes; Western Europe, the EEC and Ireland, 1945-1973 (joint editor, 2013), and East German Intelligence and Ireland, 1949-90; Espionage, terrorism and diplomacy (2015). In 2021, Central European University Press (CEUP) in Budapest published his Ireland’s Helping Hand to Europe, 1945-1950; Combating Hunger from Normandy to Tirana. Jérôme has finished a manuscript provisionally entitled “Ireland’s humanitarianism in Europe, 1945-1950; A photographic narrative”, which should be published by CEUP. 

His research interests include Ireland and the First World War, Second World War, Cold War, European integration, and its relations with continental European countries. He is currently the Peter O’Brien Visiting Scholar in the School of Irish Studies in Concordia University in Montréal.

Lecture description: Ireland, that is its government, people, Churches, and voluntary organisations, embarked on an extraordinary humanitarian aid journey that saw Irish supplies being distributed from near the D-Day beaches in Normandy to the streets of Tirana and beyond during the immediate post-Second World War years. It is to date the country’s largest humanitarian effort. Yet, this event has been forgotten and is quasi-unknown today. Over 200 archives throughout Europe were contacted and research took seven years to complete. The paper will explain why Ireland took the decision to come to continental Europe’s aid after the Second World War and how citizens in Ireland and on the continent reacted to this humanitarian effort and how Cold-War politics affected Ireland’s effort. Unseen unearthed photos will be shown. 

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