Returning home
Subtitle: Irish ex-servicemen after the Second World War
By: Bernard Kelly
Publisher: Merrion
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Dublin, Ireland; Portland, Ore
Language: eng
Number of pages: 240
ISBN-13: 9781908928047
Subjects: Demobilization; World War, 1939-1945; War and society; Social conditions; Armed Forces; Veterans; History
Description: "This book investigates one of the least well known periods in Irish history - the story of the estimated 12,000 Irish veterans who returned to Ireland at the end of the Second World War. They came back to a country in which jobs were scarce, commemoration was a divisive issue and the public had little understanding of the veteran's experiences. Even worse, an estimated 5,000 deserters from the Irish army faced potentially severe punishment when they returned home. Based pn interviews wioth surviving veterans and drawing on a wide array of archival sources, [the book] explores how Irish ex-servicemen coped with the difficult task of re-integration into Irish civilian society. It details their impact on government policy, their economic difficulties, struggles with psychological problems, the vexed issue of Remembrance and the highhly topical question of the treatment of deserters from the Irish forces."--Book jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [216]-228) and index.