The lost years : the emergency in Ireland, 1939-45

This work presents a slice of history - the six curiously claustrophobic and oddly unreal years in which Ireland declared itself neutral in Britain's war with Hitler and found itself separated from the rest of the world's events.

The new Irish state's relationship with the powers at war, the scarcity of economic resources which out of necessity led to rationing then diversification and the impact of cultural and intellectual isolation all belonged to a crucial watershed in Ireland's history and a time of great change.