Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of Irish people in World War II


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was   delete.  MBisanz  talk 02:14, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

List of Irish people in World War II

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This list is too all encompassing to provide any real value. Given the selection criteria (a connection with Ireland), the list could contain thousands of WWII soldiers and thus those listed are an arbitrary selection of the available data set - Delete Kernel Saunters (talk) 10:38, 4 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I could be wrong here, but I think Ireland wasn't directly involved in the war, which would severely limit the amount of soldiers involved (only those that were in the British army would count) and there's already a limit on people notable enough for an article of their own. I think this isn't as wide as you think it is. - Mgm|(talk) 11:08, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Hundreds of thousands of people from the Republic of Ireland served with the UK in World War II. Also, the article makes no distinction between Northern Ireland, part of the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Considerable numbers of second generation Irish lived in the UK, commonwealth and the US. The scope here is considerable Kernel Saunters (talk) 11:17, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
 * On numbers: "In January 1942 it was found that in the whole of the British Army 23,549 men were born in Éire and 28,287 in Northern Ireland ... [I]n 1944 the Éire figure had increased to 27,840 and that for Northern Ireland had reduced to 26,579." Also seen a mention of a total of 200,000 individuals. However, not all of these would have been notable - except to their families. BTW, the Republic was not declared until after the war. Folks at 137 (talk) 19:31, 4 December 2008 (UTC)


 * How many of these military were notable? The title really means List of notable Irish people in World War II, but the notable bit is implied. -Mgm|(talk) 11:51, 4 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Keep but there are several on the list who were either only of Irish descent or whose main claim to fame has nought to do with WWII.  VC recipients and field officiers make sense, and that would make this a manageable list for sure.  As all of those listed were born well before the Republic was established, indeed before the Irish Free State was established, I suspect trying to use any articifial boundaries are ill-aimed.  Collect (talk) 12:02, 4 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Keep. As the culprit who set this up, let me explain. I found it of interest that several highly prominent servicemen had Irish connections and it contradicts the perception that Irish people remained entirely outside WWII. Notability, of course, is assumed, either thru military service (VC or high command, etc) or in civilian life and this is stated in the intro. For example, Gerry Fitt's service was neither military (merchant seaman) nor notable (although he would trot it out in arguments with certain Unionists), but in later life, he was notable. If it turned out that a significant wartime technological advance was made by a Irish civilian, that would, IMO, qualify. Born elsewhere of Irish parents is not that tenuous, for its time, since Irish soldiers were stationed elsewhere in Britain or abroad, in the same way as other British servicemen, without dilution of their Irishness. I doubt that this list will contain "thousands", by its nature. Folks at 137 (talk) 12:48, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
 * How do you define notable?, only notable people can be included in Wikipedia. There are potentially hundreds already categorised, mainly from Northern Ireland, one small example: Michael Torrens-Spence. The whole thing seems like a trivial intersection - we might as well have Scandinavians in World War II. Kernel Saunters (talk) 13:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
 * I note that the "thousands" have reduced to "hundreds"! It depends on the criteria for this list; IMO, Dill, Fegen, Cunningham, Fitt & VC holders are all worthy of note. Torrens-Spence is marginal, IMO, although his part in the crippling of the Pola was highly significant in the Med campaign and he had important public service before he died. Are there really hundreds of others like this? BTW, don't knock the Scandinavian contribution - they're probably bigger than you and they made a significant contribution. Folks at 137 (talk) 19:31, 4 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Delete. The list also allows those not born in Ireland, but born of Irish parents. That opens the door to untold thousands of Irish-Americans.  Admittedly, not all of them are notable, but the list is still pretty wide open.  If you can narrow the list to those Irish nationals who specifically sought out service with a foreign military in order to serve the cause of the war, you might be able to make a point, but the list as it is defined now seems somewhat pointless.  WikiDan61 ChatMe!ReadMe!! 13:20, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
 * As above: are there really "untold thousands" of Irish-Americans (with an immediate parental link) who became generals, admirals, Medal of Honor winners, personally decided outcomes? Also, define "Irish national": all northern Irish were/are eligible, but most would not have wished to be so; AFAIK, children of Irish citizens are entitled to Irish citizenship as are people born in Ireland. That would include Cunningham, Dill, Fegen, O'Connor etc. Folks at 137 (talk) 19:31, 4 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Delete Only 18 Irish people were involved in WW2? I don't think so. Ecoleetage (talk) 18:29, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
 * The list is clearly incomplete. If that is the only objection, then expand the list or add an "incomplete" tag. If incompleteness was a criterion for deletion, then most of Wiki would be removed. Folks at 137 (talk) 19:31, 4 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Delete Indiscriminate list. This is one of those "List of people of nationality X in time period Y" lists, where X is a large nation, and Y is a global event. Literally millions of people qualify, of whom thousands would pass our criteria for notability. RayAYang (talk) 01:07, 5 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Delete A category makes more sense than a list. Edison (talk) 19:15, 5 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Delete - I agree with Edison that a category makes more sense than a list given the potentially large number of people who could be included. Cordless Larry (talk) 14:53, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Delete - There has been a rash of these lists lately. This is useless listcruft that is difficult to maintain at best and will never be complete. Personally... I'm holding out for List of left-handed people in World War II. Trusilver  00:43, 9 December 2008 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.