The Germans have landed!
Early on the night of Monday, December 13, 1943 the peace of Nenagh and district was shattered by the heavy throbbing sound of a large aeroplane circling low in the sky.
A powerful searchlight from the plane’s undercarriage raked the countryside beneath its passage. Some people feared the invasion of Ireland had finally happened. The plane circled lower and lower in the night sky, then faced towards Dromineer and disappeared from view behind Carrig Hill.
A heavy thud rent the night air, followed by the bright glow of a fire. Soon the road to Dromineer was alive with curious cyclists and pedestrians hurrying to see what had happened.
The mystery aircraft was a German Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf bomber - with a crew of eight on board - that had strayed off course into neutral Ireland and, due to engine or fuel trouble, was forced to crash-land in a field at Ballydrennan near Dromineer.
The story of that exciting December night is the subject of the Ormond Historical Society’s November talk. It is titled, ‘The Night a Luftwaffe Eagle landed at Ballydrennan’, and takes place at the Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh, on Monday, November 11 next at the usual starting time of 8pm.
The speaker is John Fletcher, a native of Dromineer and Hon President of the OHS. John will discuss the circumstances of the crash, together with both the local and official reaction to this unusual event. He will also describe the consequences it had for some local people. John will set his talk in the wider context of the period, the so-called ‘Emergency’. He will discuss how Ireland managed to stay neutral in a war-engulfed Europe, and how it managed to survive despite isolation and the severe shortages of essential goods and materials. He will also look at the lives of the local people at the time of the plane crash.
All are welcome to join us at the Abbey Court on Monday, November 11, next - members free as usual; non-members, €10 - for what will be a stimulating and informative talk on a subject that received no mention in either the Nenagh Guardian or the national press of the day due to the rigorous wartime censorship.