1937 — 1948

Éire

De Valera's Constitution of 1937 renames the state simply 'Ireland', or 'Éire'. It is a republic in everything but the word. Through World War II, which the state calls the Emergency, it stays formally neutral. Belfast burns in the Blitz. And 70,000 southern Irish volunteers quietly join the British forces.

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Who holds the land

County boundaries were fixed in 1610 and are the ones shown here. The colours are an approximation of who held sway, county by county.

Ireland (Éire) ↗
Under the 1937 Constitution the Free State became simply 'Ireland / Éire' — a republic in all but name, neutral through the 'Emergency' of World War II.

Carlow Cavan Clare Cork Donegal Dublin Galway Kerry Kildare Kilkenny Laois Leitrim Limerick Longford Louth Mayo Meath Monaghan Offaly Roscommon Sligo Tipperary Waterford Westmeath Wexford Wicklow
Northern Ireland (UK) ↗
Six Ulster counties retained within the United Kingdom under a devolved parliament from 1921; since 1998 governed under the power-sharing terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

Antrim Armagh Down Fermanagh Derry / Londonderry Tyrone

🕯 Unknown history D-Day was launched on an Irish weather report. On 3 June 1944 Maureen Flavin Sweeney at Blacksod lighthouse, Co. Mayo, logged a rapidly falling barometer — the reading that made Eisenhower delay the invasion by 24 hours, dodging a Channel storm that could have wrecked it.

People of this age

Éamon de Valera — Author of the 1937 Constitution
Maureen Flavin Sweeney — Blacksod's D-Day weather observer
James Dillon — The lone TD who argued against neutrality

Almost everyone who lived through this age left no name. Records keep kings, abbots and whoever could write, so this is a list of who was written about rather than who was here.

📜 The chronicle — events of this age

1937

Bunreacht na hÉireann ↗

A new constitution: the state is simply 'Ireland / Éire'.

1939

The Emergency ↗

Ireland declares neutrality; 70,000 southern volunteers nonetheless join British forces.

1941

Belfast Blitz ↗

Over 900 die in one April night; Dublin sends its fire brigades north across the border.

1944

Blacksod weather report ↗

A Mayo lighthouse reading delays D-Day by 24 hours — and saves it.

Quick answers

When was Éire in Ireland?

Éire spans 1937 to 1948 in this atlas. De Valera's Constitution of 1937 renames the state simply 'Ireland', or 'Éire'.

Who ruled Ireland during Éire?

Power was divided: Ireland (Éire) (26 counties); Northern Ireland (UK) (6 counties). County boundaries are modern approximations.

What is a lesser-known fact about Éire?

D-Day was launched on an Irish weather report. On 3 June 1944 Maureen Flavin Sweeney at Blacksod lighthouse, Co. Mayo, logged a rapidly falling barometer — the reading that made Eisenhower delay the invasion by 24 hours, dodging a Channel storm that could have wrecked it.

↗ links go to the relevant Wikipedia article for each event and ruler (sources & further reading).

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