In 1929 the Irish Free State was obliged under the terms of the Geneva Convention of that year to introduce legislation to form a Red Cross society. However, it was not until 1939 that a government order eventually established the Irish Red Cross. In A history of the Irish Red Cross, Shane Lehane explores the role, work, and societal contribution of the Irish Red Cross Society and analyses its impact on the cultural, medical and political history of twentieth-century Ireland.

Red Cross activity was evident in Ireland from 1907. At that time several branches of the British Red Cross were located throughout the country including those in Armagh, Dublin, Limerick and Wicklow. Lehane perceptively acknowledges the continuities between the work of the British Red Cross Society in Ireland and the later activities of the Irish Red Cross. A history of the Irish Red Cross begins with a comprehensive review of the British Red Cross Society's activities in Ireland during the First World War. In association with the Royal Army Medical Corps and the St John Ambulance Brigade, the British Red Cross was instrumental in the casualty clearing process in Ireland during the war. These groups were responsible for transporting sick and wounded soldiers who returned from the battlefields to various hospitals throughout Ireland. The formation of the Irish Free State in 1922 heralded the decline and eventual demise of the British Red Cross in southern Ireland. By 1926, the British Red Cross Society only had a presence in Cork and Dublin and by 1930, even those branches had largely faded away.

Following the formation of the Irish Free State, Cumann na nGaedheal showed little interest in establishing an Irish Red Cross Society and it took seventeen years before the society was eventually founded in 1939. Lehane's examination of the deliberations in the intervening years between the government, the Army Medical Service and various interested parties regarding the establishment of the Irish Red Cross Society is fascinating. The uncertainty among those in government on how to proceed with the issue was evident and further compounded by the Army Medical Service's stark warning that any new society should have a clear break from those who were involved in the old British Red Cross Society. When the government finally appointed twenty-four people to the Irish Red Cross Society's first central council in 1939, it was clear that the issue of representation had arisen in the selection process. A total break from the old British Red Cross Society in Ireland was not wholly apparent but there was a considerable variation in those selected for the council, which included members with differing political affiliations.

The inauguration of the Irish Red Cross Society took place during the opening days of the Second World War. In a comprehensive analysis, Lehane demonstrates how this influenced the establishment and subsequent development of the society. He details the society's activities during the Emergency, including the assistance given to ship-wrecked crews along the coast of Ireland and the establishment of an emergency hospital supply depot which produced and supplied medical dressings and equipment for use in hospitals and Red Cross first aid posts. While there is considerable focus on the wartime activities of the society, most of the book is appropriately focused on the society's activities during peacetime. There are thorough reviews of the society's role in the establishment of a national blood-transfusion service, its steering of a national anti-tuberculosis campaign, its overseas relief efforts, as well as the society's approach to overcoming various difficulties including financial problems and significant declines in membership.

This is a fascinating study of the history of the Irish Red Cross Society since 1939. Arguably, the book might have benefitted from a more detailed analysis of the society's wider membership. An investigation into their social background and motivations for joining the society, and how these altered as Irish society changed, would have added an additional dimension to this study. However, this is a small gripe. Lehane's in-depth exploration of the Irish Red Cross Society's work is absorbing and his analysis of the social and political backdrop that influenced these activities is the book's main strength. This book will appeal to those interested in the history of medicine, associational culture and twentieth-century Ireland.