Neutral and Belligerent: 1938–49

Abstract

As the international situation deteriorated and war between Britain and Germany became more likely, further exchanges occurred between Dublin and Belfast. The June 1938 election campaign in Eire, with the London Agreements signed and only Partition left as a national grievance, found the ruling Fianna Fail Party strangely quiet about that issue, as de Valera sought to gain political capital from the success of his diplomatic triumphs in April, which he acknowledged to be due in some measure to British ‘generosity’. In Belfast it was observed that his ‘principal task’ now was to end ‘Partition’. When this second Dail election within twelve months resulted in a comfortable overall majority, the Newsletter could only agree that this was thanks to the British Agreement.¹