Operation Shamrock was the name of a plan to bring German children to Ireland from post World War II Germany.
Between 1945 and 1946, the Irish Red Cross' Operation Shamrock resettled over a thousand children from war-torn Germany, Austria, France, and England. Most of these children were later repatriated to their homelands, but some were adopted by their Irish host families.
On 27 July 1946 a group of 88 exhausted and bewildered German children arrived by boat at Dún Laoghaire,County Dublin. Within months hundreds of German children had arrived in Ireland some as young as 3 years old. Some had lost their parents in the war others had their homes destroyed. The children were kept in foster families then returned to Germany. But some stayed and were adopted by new Irish parents.
About 50 German children stayed in Ireland and married Irish partners. A fountain was donated by the German government at St. Stephens green in Dublin, marking Germany's thanks for operation shamrock.
Famous quotes containing the words operation and/or shamrock:
“You may read any quantity of books, and you may almost as ignorant as you were at starting, if you don’t have, at the back of your minds, the change for words in definite images which can only be acquired through the operation of your observing faculties on the phenomena of nature.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“O Paddy dear, an’ did ye hear the news that’s goin’ round?
The shamrock is by law forbid to grow on Irish ground!
No more Saint Patrick’s Day we’ll keep, his colour can’t be seen,
For there’s a cruel law agin the wearin’ o’ the Green!”
—Unknown. The Wearing of the Green (l. 37–40)