Abstract
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.
Highlights
George Gavan Duffy is largely remembered as one of the signatories of the 1921 Treaty and for his later career as a judge of the High Court
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
Gavan Duffy was adamant that the Irish Free State should be prepared to lead the Dominions that most favoured enhanced autonomy, most likely South Africa and Canada, at this anticipated imperial constitutional conference
Summary
George Gavan Duffy is largely remembered as one of the signatories of the 1921 Treaty and for his later career as a judge of the High Court His tenure as minister for foreign affairs in 1922 was brief but important in setting the foundations. This article examines Gavan Duffy’s attempts to promote the autonomy and status of the infant Irish Free State as a new actor on the international stage. It focuses on the critical period between his signing of the Treaty in 1921 and his effective withdrawal from politics in 1923. This document declared that the Irish Free State would enjoy the same status as the Dominions, the self-governing colonies of white settlement within the British Empire. the Dominions had made substantial advances in autonomy by the early twentieth century, they were still not recognised by many authorities as being sovereign states. This article examines Gavan Duffy’s determined efforts to advance the status of the young Irish Free State within the British Commonwealth and on a wider international stage
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