Of the countries that remained neutral during the Second World War, none was more controversial than Ireland, with accusations of betrayal and hypocrisy poisoning the media.

Where previous histories of Ireland in the war years have focused on high politics, That Neutral Island mines deeper layers of experience bringing to life the atmosphere of a country forced to do without much of its modern technology wihilst living under rationing, heavy censorship and the threat of invasion, unearthing the motivations of those thousands who left Ireland to fight in the British forces and showing how ordinary people tried to make sense of the Nazi threat through the lens of antagonism to Britain.