This presentation will examine the activities of France's external military intelligence service, the Deuxième Bureau de l'État-major general, in Ireland from 1899 to 1923. It will look at the political and military situation in Ireland at that time, along with some of its main political and military leaders. The successes of French military intelligence in Ireland will be also be covered, with a particular focus on the career of the senior military attaché in London, Colonel Artus Henri Louis de la Panouse (pictured). He predicted many of the major events that would unfold in Ireland during those turbulent years and transmitted detailed reports on them to Paris. The presentation will also provide the French view on events such as: the Irish Home Rule Crisis, 1916 Rising, 1918 Irish Conscription Crisis and the Irish War of Independence.
Will Bryant is a retired member of the Irish Navy and member of the Cork Branch of the WFA. He has a lifelong interest in military history, particularly between the years 1913 and 1923.
All are welcome to attend!