Pardon issued to soldiers who left to fight Nazis

Irish soldiers who were blacklisted for joining the British army to fight Nazi Germany have been vindicated after almost 70 years.

Defence Minister Alan Shatter said the men had ensured the safety of the very people at home who branded them deserters.

Passing a bill to grant amnesty to thousands of former troops, he said their families should be proud. “These individuals contributed in no small part to the allied victory against tyranny and totalitarianism.

“Their efforts, in an indirect way, also contributed to the safety of their home country.

“If the United Kingdom had fallen to the forces of Nazi Germany, the same fate would almost certainly have been visited on this island, with all of the consequences that would have gone with it.”

Around 60,000 people from the Republic fought on the Allied side. About 5,000 were found guilty by a military tribunal at the time of going absent without leave from the Defence Forces.

Special powers brought in — which became known as the starvation order — saw the deserters barred from state jobs, refused military pensions, and faced with widespread discrimination.

However, the Defence Forces (Second World War Amnesty and Immunity) Bill 2012, now provides for the granting of an amnesty and immunity from prosecution. It is understood five of those soldiers are still alive.

Peter Mulvany, Irish Soldiers Pardon Campaign spokesman, said relatives of those branded deserters could now draw a line under what was once considered a shameful family history.