Operation Green: Hitler's Plan for Ireland
Irish History Podcast
Fin Dwyer
4.7 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 29 April 2026
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 1939, Ireland declared itself neutral in the Second World War. But neutrality did not mean the island was safe. Indeed, both Germany and Britain developed plans to occupy the entire island.
This episode focuses on Operation Green, Hitler's secret invasion plan for Ireland, and Plan W, the Irish government's defensive strategy. Historian James Doherty joins me to explain this intriguing aspect of the Second World War in Ireland. We begin by exploring why Ireland was important to both sides in the war. Then James details the German invasion plan and the why the British were determined to stop them. He also explores the controversial Irish Army defence plans and whether they would have worked.
Sound by Kate Dunlea.
James Doherty is a historian based in Waterford with interests in Military History and the history of smuggling in Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries. He is currently researching Ireland during the Emergency.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | In 1939, the Irish government in Dublin announced its neutrality in the Second World War. |
| 0:11.0 | However, while Ireland wanted to stay out of the conflict, that didn't mean others would respect this position. |
| 0:18.0 | Numerous countries, including Norway, Denmark and even the United States, |
| 0:22.4 | initially pursued neutrality, but were ultimately drawn into the conflict. And in 1939, many |
| 0:28.4 | assumed the same might happen to Ireland. The island did, after all, have major strategic |
| 0:33.7 | importance and both Germany and Britain developed plans to occupy the entire island. |
| 0:39.3 | This episode explores Operation Green, the German plan for invasion, but also Plan W, the |
| 0:46.4 | plan for the defence of Ireland. |
| 0:53.3 | Hello and welcome to the Irish History podcast. My name is Finn DeWire. |
| 0:58.4 | Now, I've been looking forward to making this episode for weeks. So a few months back when I |
| 1:03.5 | interviewed Donico O'Kiallocon for the show on Irish Neutrality, he mentioned that my guest |
| 1:08.5 | today, James Doherty, a historian here in Waterford, had presented a paper on this very topic, Operation Green and Plan W. |
| 1:16.5 | And I knew immediately I had to get James on the show to talk about this. |
| 1:20.7 | James is a historian, as I say here in Waterford, and his main areas of research are military history and the history of smuggling. |
| 1:28.4 | But today, we're going to be focusing on the Second World War. And much of our conversation will focus on Operation |
| 1:33.7 | Green, the German plans to invade Ireland, but we do set the scene by looking at Ireland's precarious |
| 1:39.8 | position at the start of the Second World War more generally. Indeed, to fully understand the German |
| 1:45.6 | plans for the island, it's crucial to get an insight into how Britain viewed Ireland and why they |
| 1:51.3 | were so determined to prevent Ireland from being captured by the Germans at all costs. So, Winston |
| 1:58.2 | Churchill becomes a key figure in this story as you'll hear. But there are other moving parts as well. |
| 2:04.1 | James explains how IRA volunteers based in Ireland had launched a campaign against Britain from 1939 and had made contact with Nazi Germany, |
| 2:14.9 | something that might have led to a British invasion of Ireland in the early |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Fin Dwyer, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Fin Dwyer and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.