  We report the occurrence of a deep low state in the eclipsing short-period
cataclysmic variable IR Com, lasting more than two years. Spectroscopy obtained
in this state shows the system as a detached white dwarf plus low-mass
companion, indicating that accretion has practically ceased. The spectral type
of the companion derived from the SDSS spectrum is M6-7, somewhat later than
expected for the orbital period of IR Com. Its radial velocity amplitude,
K_2=419.6+-3.4 km/s, together with the inclination of 75-90deg implies
0.8Msun<Mwd<1.0Msun. We estimate the white dwarf temperature to be ~15000K, and
the absence of Zeeman splitting in the Balmer lines rules out magnetic fields
in excess of ~5 MG. IR Com still defies an unambiguous classification, in
particular the occurrence of a deep, long low state is so far unique among
short-period CVs that are not strongly magnetic.
