Defending Ireland: The Irish State and its Enemies since 1922. By Eunan O'Halpin. Oxford University Press. £25 in UK
The theme of Eunan O'Halpin's book is at the heart of all democracies - the State's capacity to defend itself against internal subversion or external threat. The subtext is the capacity of the State to do so while operating under the normal legal and constitutional constraints which guarantee the liberties and fundamental rights of the citizen who has to be defended.
Hilaire Belloc summed it up very well in a piece of verse many years ago: "Pale Ebenezer thought it wrong to fight/ But Roaring Bill, who killed him, thought it right'. Many states this century have found themselves in the role of poor Ebenezer, unable or unwilling to defend themselves, while the Roaring Bills steamrolled mercilessly on.
In the troubled years of the twentieth century we have been extraordinarily fortunate in that we have never had to face external aggression. It was a close-run thing. Had the Axis juggernaut continued on its westward path in 19401/41, then our neutrality would have counted for little; had the theatre of war not moved eastwards after 1942, then Britain might well have put its survival ahead of our legal rights.
That did not happen even if, as Professor O'Halpin argues, a high price was subsequently paid. More important, however, was the way in which the government dealt with its internal enemies - the real threat, or at least the controllable threat to neutrality. As was the case earlier in the Civil War, success was only possible through the partial abandonment of the key democratic pre-suppositions underlying the Constitution. To a great extent during this period, the politicians made the general rules and then averted their eyes as the Gardai, Army, Justice and External Affairs got on with the business. And when we look at what that business was, the catalogue of intrusions is daunting. O'Halpin catalogues some of them. They included extraordinary levels of domestic surveillance and control, robust measures against proven and suspected subversives, a remarkably intolerant approach to the public expression of views that were contrary to the official line on any aspect of the war, and a policy of rigid exclusion of refugees. A person's post, newspaper, phone and travel arrangements were all subject to draconian government interference. The individual views and private lives of ordinary people were systematically scrutinised.
But then, the stakes were high, and, judged by the only criterion that counted, the policy of neutrality was successful. De Valera and his colleagues recognised that unpleasant things had to be done and were uneasy about the way in which some of them were done. As soon as they could, they did rescind most - though not all - of these powers. And for the most part restraint rather than excess was the order of the day, something made possible by the fact that neutrality had all-party support at all times.
THE book begins with a discussion of the Civil War, and a fascinating analysis it is. Dr O'Halpin is absolutely even-handed in his examination of a war he describes as "a miserable and confused business". He argues that the government's political and military resolve came as a profound shock to republican opponents, who saw themselves as the military and political elite of the Independence struggle. The government, he argues, "might well have won without recourse to all the measures used, and without the various atrocities for which its forces were responsible. But at some point or other the government had to meet force with greater force, and IRA terror with State terror". However, the legacy of the Civil War was a grim one, not least because of the "grim precedent which some future government confronted with disorder might follow."
This book, however, is about much more than the Civil War and the Emergency; it is especially interesting on events near our own time as the State dealt with resurgent militant Republicanism on both sides of the Border and the sporadic attacks of Loyalist paramilitaries. It also deals with the Arms Trial and subsequent events.
Eunan O'Halpin has written an extremely valuable book. The subject matter is of huge importance, the issues, even the Civil War ones, are sensitive and controversial. His book is a rare blend of style and scholarship, showing great insight and utter impartiality. He has made a vital contribution to understanding the modern Irish State.
Maurice Manning's James Dillon: A Biography will be published in October