Kerlogue’s Winter Rescue
The political event firmly dated to 1943 was the general election of 23 June. It was held under unusual legal arrangements. The General Elections (Emergency Provisions) Act, enacted on 27 April, allowed an election to proceed before the existing Dáil was dissolved. In wartime, the Government wanted to avoid even a short interval in which the country had no sitting parliament. That practical measure captured the mentality of the Emergency: constitutional forms were retained, but adapted to an environment in which security and continuity were held to be paramount.