"You weer the one who described Portugal as "England's oldest ally in Europe" and pointed out that "the alliance goes back centuries"

Portugal is England's oldest ally in Europe - In fact it is the oldest treaty in the world

The alliance does go back centuries, signed as it was on 16 June 1373 between King Edward III of England and King Ferdinand and Queen Eleanor of Portugal - That is going back centuries isn't it?

With regard to Salazar, that fascist you were on about, the treaty ensured agreement with regard to Portuguese neutrality during the Second World War and kept the Iberian Peninsula out of the war. Salazar, that fascist you were on about granted Great Britain use of airbases in the Azores to help combat the German U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic - So in ensuring the defeat of the fascist Axis Powers during the Second world War, that Portuguese fascist Salazar did a damned sight more that "good ol' Dev" did in Dublin.