# The Emergency and Irish Neutrality (2 September 1939)

URL: https://allhistories.com/ireland/timeline/1939-the-emergency-and-irish-neutrality
Themes: Wars & Battles

Having recovered the Treaty Ports in 1938, de Valera was determined that Ireland should stay out of any European war. Neutrality was widely popular as an expression of sovereignty, and many argued that Ireland could not join Britain while partition continued. When Germany invaded Poland, the Oireachtas declared a state of emergency on 2 September 1939 and passed the Emergency Powers Act the next day. The period became known in Ireland as "the Emergency". The government took sweeping powers over censorship, prices and supplies, and the Defence Forces and the Local Defence Force expanded rapidly. Shortages of fuel and imported goods led to rationing, the use of turf instead of coal and the creation of Irish Shipping Ltd in 1941. Internment was used against the IRA at the Curragh, where Allied and German airmen were also held. In practice neutrality leaned towards the Allies: Allied airmen were often released, intelligence was shared and weather reports from Blacksod helped time the D-Day landings. Ireland emerged from the war unoccupied but isolated, and tens of thousands of Irish citizens had served in the British forces or worked in British war industries. Neutrality became a lasting element of Irish foreign policy and national identity.

## Why it matters
Wartime neutrality was the clearest demonstration of Irish sovereignty and left a lasting mark on Irish foreign policy and relations with Britain.

Ruler at the Time: [George VI](https://allhistories.com/ireland/rulers/george-vi)

Taoiseach: Éamon de Valera (Fianna Fáil)
Prime Minister of Northern Ireland: Sir James Craig (Ulster Unionist Party)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — The Emergency (Ireland)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emergency_(Ireland))
- [Wikipedia — Irish neutrality during World War II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_neutrality_during_World_War_II)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Ireland neutrality World War II Emergency](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Ireland+neutrality+World+War+II+Emergency)
- [History Ireland — The Emergency neutrality](https://www.historyireland.com/?s=The+Emergency+neutrality)
- [Wikipedia — Free State and Republic (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Republic_of_Ireland)