The internment of Cahir Healy MP, Brixton Prison 1941-42

Abstract

The arrest and internment in Brixton prison of the leading Northern Ireland nationalist politician and Stormont MP, Cahir Healy, in 1941 has long remained something of an historical enigma. Contemporaneous accounts that his arrest amounted to little more than an unwarranted act of anti-nationalist persecution or was the result of his alleged involvement in ‘acts prejudicial’ during time of war both benefited from the blanket of secrecy that surrounded the case. This article casts light on this affair. It offers an insight into the strategic considerations of Northern nationalist politicians at a time when British victory in the war was uncertain. It argues that some senior nationalist activists, including Healy, did envisage a situation in which British defeat and German victory could bring closer the prospect of Irish unity, did contemplate a policy of cooperation with Germany and did take steps to make this known to the German Legation in Dublin. The article also examines Healy's relationship with fellow internees in Brixton prison and his continued post-war association with figures on the British far-right, particularly Sir Oswald Mosley. (Oxford University Press)