The Emergency in Ballincollig When the Second World War broke out in 1939 , it had a huge effect on those on either side , but also those on neither side . The Emergency , as the War was called in Ireland , had a profound effect on those living in Ireland . The way of life in Ballincollig was not in isolation to that in the rest of the country , and provides a good viewpoint with which to examine The Emergency . The Outbreak of War . The Second World War had been feared for some time . The bad news was heard on 3 September 1939 when the British Prime Minister , Neville Chamberlain , spoke to his people . “ I am speaking to you from the Cabinet Room of 10 Downing Street . This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that unless we heard from them by 11 o ’ clock that they were prepared at one to withdraw their troops from Poland , a state of war would exist between us . I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received and that consequently this country is at war with Germany . ” The Irish Response . On Radio Éireann , Sunday , 3 September , Taoiseach , Éamon de Valera , spoke to the Irish People : “ You know from the News Bulletins to which you have been listening , that the great European powers are again at war . That this would be the end , has appeared inevitable for month past . Such escape as we had a year ago could hardly be expected to occur twice . Yet until a short time ago there was hope . But now hope is gone and the people of Europe are plunged once more into the misery and anguish of war . Notting the march of events , your government decided its policy early last Spring and announced its decision to you and to the world . We resolved that the aim of our policy would be to keep our people out of the war . ” Ballincollig in the 1940s . Ballincollig was very different in the 1940s . There were very narrow streets and no states . In 1943 population in Ballincollig was about 256 ; the population is about 50 times bigger today . Ballincollig was only a village . They did no have much transport so they could only go to the pub or a neighbours ’ house . The main street in Ballincollig has changed a lot . The post office used to be where Hogan ’ s is today and the army barracks and Garda Station were on the one side of the street and the houses and the shops were on the other . There were mostly houses at that time but now there are a lot of pubs and shops . The street was very quiet . Most transport had stopped , except for horse drawn traffic . There were also no street lights , although houses in the village did not have electricity . During the war , electricity was available only certain times . People used paraffin lamps for light in their homes . The main pub in Ballincollig was O ' Connell ' s . This was a public house called “ The Commercial Hotel ” . “ It serves breakfast on Fair Days . Proprietress Mrs . O ’ Connell . ” ( I . T . A . Topographical and General Survey , 19 July 1943 . ) . The monthly fair day and market was the first Thursday of every month . They bought and sold horses , cattle , sheep and pigs . Ballincollig or cork did not suffer from bombs but people took precautions just the same . Some people built air - raid shelters . The Army and the Emergency . Ballincollig was very important during the Second World War because many soldiers were based at Murphy Barracks had been burned down in 1921 , but it was rebuilt at the start of the Emergency . By 1941 there were up to 1 , 000 men stationed in the barracks . Ireland was neutral during the war but the army was put on special alert and had extra training . In June , 1940 enrolment began for the Local Security Forces ( L . S . F ) , This was an auxiliary force to help out the regular army and tens of thousands of men and women joined up , aged 16 to 70 . Most men joined section A ( Military Duties ) because it was more active and they got to use rifles and explosives . Rifles and Exercises . The first rifles issued to the L . S . F . were American . Mr Dan Murphy of Blarney said these rifles were long and cumbersome and they were changed later . Each soldier was given a bandolier of 50 rounds . Mr . Murphy said they often went on weekend exercises . He remembered one training at Castlefreke Castle during the summer holidays . He said they travelled down by train to Clonakilty , but they had to march about 10 miles to their camp . They went on patrols at night and they were often on guard duty at the Garda barracks in Blarney , where rifles were kept . The L . S . F and the L . D . F . By 1941 the L . S . F was organised into about 120 groups in the Cork area . Mr Murphy said they did their early training with mock weapons in the grounds of Blarney Castle , but later they were supplied with real guns , heavy coats and gaiters . He said nearly everyone cycled to training Section B was given defence duties , such as guarding important buildings and going on patrols . Mr . Leo Ryan told us that he was stationed at Sarsfield Barracks in Limerick . He said that one day he cycled from Limerick to Cork to go to a funeral . It took him most of the day . Mr . Sean McNamara was the D . A . O for the Blarney District . He told us about big exercises they had with men from Cork city and county taking part . They used to have a conference in Collins Barracks afterwards to review the exercise . Men were brought on occasions to Collins Barracks for lectures . He said there was total loyalty demanded of the men in the L . S . F . / L . D . F . , and they kept true their promise . Rations . When the war started , some foods and fuel were rationed . People wrote away to the Department of Supplies for a ration card . They only got 2 oz . of tea per week . Boats , shoes and clothing were in short supply . You had to make a living . Drink was also rationed . The amount of rations for each house depended on the number of people in the family . Some people were tricked into buying very expensive tea on the ‘ black market ’ only to find it half - full with sawdust . Others claimed allowances for family members who were no longer at home . But mostly the ration system worked well . Some foods were scarce for a year or so after the war , but eventually they became available again . Fuel . Because of shipping difficulties , one could not get in fuel supplies . Petrol was rationed very early on , and you got coupons for each month . But most people did not have cars anyway , so it made little difference to them . Everyone had a bicycle , often cycled long journeys . Coal was also scarce , so a big effort went into turf cutting . The Army was sent out to harvest turf , but some soldiers didn ’ t like this work . The Army was allowed enough fuel to go on manoeuvres . Priests , doctors and vets got extra allowances of fuel . News . People often listened to the news on radio , because there was no television then . Often people , especially fathers , would go to Mary O ’ Connell ’ s to listen to matches , games and news . The news would have reports of the war and songs to keep people entertained . Speeches were made by Éamon de Valera who was Taoiseach . ( He made an historic broadcast at the outbreak of the war and another famous one at the end , when he replied to Mr . Churchill ’ s speech Ireland ’ s neutrality . ) People were told how Germany saw the war when they listened to Lord Haw - Haw . He came on the radio nearly every night and began with “ Germany calling , Germany calling ” . Radio . The radio was known as the “ wireless ” , and it couldn ’ t be carried around like transistor radios today . The wireless needed batteries which were changed every few weeks . To change the batteries people would have to go into town by bicycle with a carrier . They needed quite large batteries at that time . She said that they didn ’ t like doing this job . The wireless was very important then and nearly every household had one .