George Gavan Duffy and the Irish Free State on the International Stage, 1921–1923

This article examines the efforts made by George Gavan Duffy, signatory of the 1921 ‘Anglo-Irish Treaty’ and minister for foreign affairs in 1922, to promote the autonomy of the embryonic Irish Free State as a new member of the international community in the early 1920s. It examines his brief tenure as minister for foreign affairs and his subsequent efforts as an independent TD. Gavan Duffy was convinced that the new state could rapidly advance its autonomy through active engagement and cooperation with allies among the Dominions at regular meetings known as ‘imperial conferences’. This article argues that this strategy was not as obvious in 1922 as it would later appear with the benefit of hindsight. The Irish provisional government, whose relationship with Gavan Duffy was tense, proved unreceptive to his recommendations. This analysis concludes that although these recommendations were based on erroneous details, Gavan Duffy’s instinct proved accurate.