Glucksman Ireland House presents
A U.S. Spy in Ireland: The Truth Behind Irish “Neutrality” During World War II
Thursday, November 12th at 7pm
at Glucksman Ireland House NYU
During World War II, the U.S. Office of Strategic Services sent several intelligence agents to Ireland, including the head of the whole operation, General William J. Donovan. Three were sent undercover; two were promptly uncovered by the Irish government.
The third, Martin S. Quigley, retained his cover, as a representative of the U.S. film industry, during the whole of his stay in 1943. His job was to investigate the suspicions that existed abroad about Irish neutrality and to corroborate or reject what previous agents had found. Quigley found that the Irish government, far from being pro-German, tacitly supported the Allied position while finding it politic to maintain the semblance of neutrality.
Now 92-years old, Martin S. Quigley, Ed.D., will discuss his Irish experience together with his son, Kevin F. Quigley, Ph.D., President and CEO of the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), a national membership organization for individuals inspired by the Peace Corps experience. Martin S. Quigley is the publisher, editor, and author of a dozen books including Magic Shadows: The Story of the Origin of Motion Pictures, Films In America, 1929–1969, A U.S. Spy in Ireland, and Peace Without Hiroshima: Secret Action at the Vatican in the Spring of 1945. He is the dean of American film journalists and historians. He started working for his father, Martin J. Quigley, in 1939 as a reporter and film reviewer and then became editor of Motion Picture Herald from 1949 to 1966. From then to 1972 he was editorial director of Motion Picture Daily. He was the editor and publisher of the International Motion Picture Almanac and The International Television & Video Almanac for more than three decades. He was President and Publisher of Quigley Publishing Company from 1964 to 2001.