THE REVOLUTIONARY AIMS of IRELAND'S FORGOTTEN DIPLOMATS, 1919-1922

Abstract

In the last twenty years, the involvement of women's organizations in the campaign for Irish independence has featured prominently in publications and public discourse. But this article asks, did women serve the cause for independence in other ways? This article focuses on the careers of Irish women who worked for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs in the period 1919-22, pressing Ireland's case for autonomy from British rule. The work of these early women abroad has been largely ignored by historians who have concentrated on the diplomatic activities of men in this period. This article first argues that these women who worked towards achieving independence for Ireland through the use of diplomacy and propaganda merit attention, but secondly they can be considered providing further insights into how women's work for the cause of Irish freedom did not warrant them a place in the diplomatic service in the new Irish Free State.