ABSTRACT
The Curragh internees knew that release was hitched to the great uncertainties of the war and, when peace eventually came, to the public mood and the temper of the government. In the summer of 1941, the Department of Justice sought further information on the activities of a Green Cross Committee seeking to raise funds in Castleblaney, Co. Monaghan – a border district. The Department’s concerns appear to have been set to rest when the organiser confirmed that he was acting on behalf of the Belfast-based organisation, which was supported by the Roman Catholic bishops and clergy and by Cardinal MacRory. Both the OASA and the 1940 amending Act provided for the establishment of a Commission to hear appeals against internment orders. Parole, a more routine exercise of executive discretion, was applied for and liberally granted throughout the duration of internment. By 1944, the proportion of internees on parole had risen to 26 per cent.
