The Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) has been in a curious constitutional state since 1937: Connections to the british monarchy have been capped, but officially the country never was declared a republic - even if it is one, in practice.
World War II has put the country under pressure: Great Britain, especially Winston Churchill, would like to use the southern Irish Harbours as they did until 1938; but some Irish, especially militant ones, sympathise with Nazi Germany, if only because it's the enemy of the British.