Honors College Theses

Publication Date

4-1-2026

Major

Information Systems (BBA)

Release Option

Open Access

Faculty Mentor

Allison Belzer

Abstract

In the Second World War, the nation of Ireland declared its neutrality and maintained this status through the course of the long conflict. Meanwhile, Germany, Great Britain, and eventually the United States all competed to gain Ireland’s support in the war. However, one overlooked group continued to keep tabs on the affairs within their homeland: Irish Americans. How does one respond to a nation you have a connection with staying neutral in such a deadly conflict? The answer, for Irish Americans, was that it depended on the year. Before the United States entered the war, Irish Americans firmly defended the neutrality of their homeland as well as the neutral stance of their new home, as there was mutual interest in neutrality. However, following Pearl Harbor, a shift occurred and support for neutrality faded in the face of American patriotism. The global conflict required Irish Americans to make a choice between loyalty to their cultural origins or their new homeland.  In the end, most Irish Americans formed a stronger connection to the United States culturally that would not have existed without the conflict.

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