I recently heard that the sien fien kept in contact with the german
submarines in ww2 in the west of Ireland I find this hard to believe. 
can anyone shed light on this?

Hi Petroc

It depends a little on how much distinction you make between Sinn Fein
and the Irish Republican Army, both of which have undergone many
internal changes and changes in relationship over the years.
these two articles may be  of particular interest:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Artur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Se%C3%A1n_Russell

to hardtofindbooks-ga

no leads on en, wikipedia.   can you come up with something more definitive.

can anyone come up with an answer?  petroc-ga

Hardtofindbooks draws attention to making a distinction between the
IRA and Sinn Fein  - one which may not have been made by whomever you
"recently heard".

There is no reason to question the Wikipedia sites; many others about
Russell say the same thing:  that he was in Germany, that Germany had
a plan for Ireland, and that Russell died at sea on a Germany sub that
was to bring him and another Irishman to the west coast of Ireland.

This biographical site of Eamon de Velera discusses Irish neutrality during WW II.
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/reference/eamon_de_valera

Neutrality in wartime is narrow path, so there are, no doubt,
differing opinions; just remaining neutral looks weak-kneed and
"friendly" to the opposition from both sides.  Furthermore, Ireland
was still proud of her recent independence from England and also had
some blatant antisemitism.

I hope this helps a bit.

You may be interested in searching this book for references to
U-boats/German submarines:

Censorship in Ireland 1939-1945: Neutrality, Politics and Society 
by Donal O Drisceoil 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1859180744/qid=1141373209/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-6675335-1900604?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

And this book might help:
In Time of War: Ireland, Ulster and the Price of Neutrality 1939-45 
by Robert Fisk 
(see reader's comment)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0586084983/qid=1141373594/sr=1-8/ref=sr_1_8/103-6675335-1900604?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

My website, Insider's guide to hidden Dublin, has a few pages devoted
to this topic. You might find my pictures of the German war graves
near Dublin revealing; they were the remains of airmen and some
occasional seamen washed up on our shores between 1940-45 when Eire
was neutral. Significantly, you won't find the bodies of any allied
servicemen since they were secretly returned.

As for the living, German service and spies were interred in the
Curragh Camp, about 45k from Dublin. The Germans landed several spies,
all (probably?) of whom were instantly identified when they landed in
rural communities in the south-west and western shores of Ireland.
Again, any allied flyers who ditched in Ireland were discretely
returned across the border with N. Ireland.

As  to the intentions of these German spies, and whether they were
attempting to make contact with Sinn Fein or the IRA, I don't know. I
suspect they were interrogated - to my knowledge any transcripts do
not exist or were not recorded. One starting point might be the
National Archives:

http://www.nationalarchives.ie/contactus/location.html

I remember RTE made an interesting TV documentary about the German
spies - I seem to recall it was broadcast in the late 1980s.

I hope this helps and sorry it's a but late!!

All the best,

Peter Scott

Insiders guide to hidden Dublin...an alternative guide to Dublin,
providing information on culture, attractions, accommodation, music,
pubs, clubs, fun and links in Dublin, Ireland.
http://www.hidden-dubin.com/

Goto 'Train, tram and bus' page 4.
Goto 'Hidden photos' thumbnails page 2 for a link to the Glencree war graves