The War That Never Came: Creating, Transmitting and Maintaining Handed-Down Memories of the Emergency in Ireland. Acknowledging Family Recollections of WWII1

Abstract

Within the context of WWII, this essay explores the notion of national and personal conflict within individuals and communities in Ireland, part of which had undergone the severing of imperial connections and the attainment of national independence less than a full generation before. In Ireland, the conflict of war on a wider stage impinged upon an inner conflict closer to the heart. To go or not to go… to war. The question was raised to remain behind and serve a / the cause by maintaining a “home guard” alertness. This essay attempts to examine the fuzziness of transmitted handed-down memory which is far from being as clear and precise as “official” history. War memorials suggest an alternative conclusion and an alternative sense of historical order – intellectual and ideological. At the core of this paper are the memories of Martin Jarlath Gormally, the author’s father. His grandchildren and great-grandchildren live in Ireland, France, the United Kingdom, and Austria. For comparison / contrast, brief reference is made to WWII in France and to de-Nazification in Austria.