Volume V chronicles the development and execution of Irish foreign policy in the lead up to World War Two in September 1939. This volume pieces together an exacting account of Ireland's policies abroad despite the destruction of documents by the Department of External Affairs in 1940, when a German invasion was feared.

Volume VI in the hugely successful Documents on Irish Foreign Policy series explores Ireland's Second World War neutrality through secret wartime documents. The book shows, in readable and gripping detail, how Irish diplomats established and executed the State's neutrality in wartime Europe. Most importantly, it reveals in detail hitherto unknown, the increasingly complex and highly-charged nature of wartime British-Irish relations. The volume is the most comprehensive account ever published of Ireland's foreign policy during the first years of the Second World War. Published, for the first time, are complete transcripts of the British-Irish defense co-operation talks that took place in late May 1940. It includes full reports on the progress of the war in Europe from Irish diplomats in London, Berlin, Paris, Rome, and Washington. It also covers such areas as the Russo-Finnish Winter War, the invasion and fall of France, the invasion of Norway, Churchill's rise to power, the Blitz, daily life in Berlin during wartime, and Luftwaffe attacks on Ireland.

All places undergo change, but in few has this change been quite as sweeping as Ireland – both the independent Republic of Ireland and dependent Northern Ireland – so it is good to see where it is heading at present. Obviously, that has to be judged on the background of where it is coming from, not only over the past decade or so but over centuries and, indeed, millennia. This new edition of Historical Dictionary of Ireland is an excellent resource for discovering the history of Ireland. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The cross-referenced dictionary section has over 600 entries on significant persons, places and events, political parties and institutions (including the Catholic church) with period forays into literature, music and the arts. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Ireland.

The first of two volumes, this book examines constitutionalism in Ireland in the 1930s. Donal K. Coffey places the document and its drafters in the context of a turbulent decade for the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and Europe. He considers a series of key issues leading up to its drafting, including the failure of the 1922 Constitution, the rise of nationalism in the 1920s and 1930s, and the abdication of Edward VIII. He sketches the drafting process, examines the roles of individual drafters and their intellectual influences, and considers the Constitution’s public reception, both domestically and internationally. This book illuminates a critical moment in Irish history and the confluence of national, Commonwealth, and international influences that gave rise to it, for scholars of Irish history as well as of legal, constitutional, and Commonwealth history more broadly.

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Volume IV of the Documents on Irish Foreign Policy series deals with the development of Irish Foreign Policy during the period March 10, 1932 - December 31, 1936. This volume takes as its starting point the formation of Ireland's first Fianna F ? ? ? il administration, led by Eamon de Valera, who assumed a dual role as President of the Executive Council and Minister for External Affairs. The period covered by this volume proved to be an eventful one in terms of Ireland's developing foreign policy. Predominance is given to documents that chart the complex reorientation of the relationship between Ireland and Britain. Many documents relating to Ireland's role at the League of Nations have also been included. With diplomats stationed in Berlin, Paris and Vatican City, the Department of External Affairs was kept well informed of the developments on the continent. Many documents charting the course of European events in the run up to the Second World War survive and are published here.

In this magisterial narrative, Zara Steiner traces the twisted road to war that began with Hitler's assumption of power in Germany. Covering a wide geographical canvas, from America to the Far East, Steiner provides an indispensable reassessment of the most disputed events of these tumultuous years. Steiner underlines the far-reaching consequences of the Great Depression, which shifted the initiative in international affairs from those who upheld the status quo to those who were intent on destroying it. In Europe, the l930s were Hitler's years. He moved the major chess pieces on the board, forcing the others to respond. From the start, Steiner argues, he intended war, and he repeatedly gambled on Germany's future to acquire the necessary resources to fulfil his continental ambitions. Only war could have stopped him-an unwelcome message for most of Europe. Misperception, miscomprehension, and misjudgment on the part of the other Great Powers leaders opened the way for Hitler's repeated diplomatic successes. It is ideology that distinguished the Hitler era from previous struggles for the mastery of Europe. Ideological presumptions created false images and raised barriers to understanding that even good intelligence could not penetrate. Only when the leaders of Britain and France realized the scale of Hitler's ambition, and the challenge Germany posed to their Great Power status, did they finally declare war.

Irish neutrality during the Second World War presented Britain with significant challenges to its security. Exploring how British agencies identified and addressed these problems, Eunan O'Halpin casts fresh light on the significance of both espionage and cooperation between agencies for developing wider relations between the two countries.