Ireland and the League of Nations, 1919-1946

This is the first extensive in-depth study of the role in Ireland in an international organisation. It is based on official records from the Department of External Affairs that have never previously been the basis of research, and primary material from European archives. Ireland's stance at the League of Nations, revealed as a central feature of inter-war Irish foreign policy, is traced through the Cumann na nGaedheal and Fianna Fail administrations. The development and execution of policy by crucial figures including Eamon de Valera, Patrick McGilligan and Joseph Walshe, is charted and assessed against the background of the most turbulent period of the twentieth century. The focus on the relationship between Irish diplomats in Geneva and Ireland's other diplomatic missions highlights the importance of the post of Permanent Representative to the League as a key to the inter-war Irish diplomatic network. The book fundamentally re-assesses the foreign policy formulation of Cumann na nGaedheal in the 1920s. The intricate nature of the young Free State's foreign policy is revealed in new detail, indicating a more international and less Anglo-Irish centred agenda.