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THE REVOLUTIONARY AIMS OF IRELAND'S FORGOTTEN DIPLOMATS, 1919–1922

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2020

ANN MARIE O'BRIEN Open the ORCID record for ANN MARIE O'BRIEN [Opens in a new window]
ANN MARIE O'BRIEN*
Affiliation:
Maynooth University
*
Department of History, Maynooth University, Irelandannmarie.obrien@mu.ie
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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.

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Article
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 64 , Issue 5 , December 2021 , pp. 1332 - 1354
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press.

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References

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32 Mairead Gavan Duffy to Dublin, 26 Sept. 1921, NAI, DFA ES Rome, 1921–3.

33 Ibid.

34 Ibid.

35 Mairead Gavan Duffy to Arthur Griffith, 11 Oct. 1921, ibid.

36 Ibid.

37 Mairead Gavan Duffy to Eamon de Valera, 11 Oct. 1921, NAI, DFA ES Rome, 1921–3, Vatican file.

38 Eamon de Valera to Mairead Gavan Duffy, 31 Oct. 1921, NAI, DFA ES Rome, 1921–3, peace negotiation file.

39 Keogh, Ireland and Europe, p. 9.

40 Mairead Gavan Duffy to Arthur Griffith, 22 Oct. 1921, NAI, DFA ES Rome, 1921–3, Italy 1921 file.

41 Ibid.

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46 P. J. Little précis report, 4 Oct. 1921, Kennedy et al., eds., DIFP, pp. 195–6.

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48 P. J. Little to Robert Brennan, 4 Dec. 1921, Kennedy et al., eds., DIFP, p. 209.

49 Ibid., p. 210.

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51 Owen McGee, ‘John Wyse Power’, McGuire and Quinn, eds., DIB, http://dib.cambridge.org/viewReadPage.do?articleId=a7469.

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62 Ibid., p. 4.

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64 Ibid.

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66 Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Robert Brennan, 5 Mar. 1921, NAI, DFA ES Spain.

67 Ibid.

68 Art O'Brien to Eamon de Valera, 7 Apr. 1921, National Library of Ireland (NLI), Art Ó Briain papers, MS 8429/1. My thanks to Dr Mary MacDiarmada for providing this information.

69 Dublin to Máire O'Brien, 20 June 1921, NAI, DFA ES Spain.

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75 Máire O'Brien report, 23 June 1921, NAI, DFA ES Spain.

76 Máire O'Brien report for May and June 1921, 1 July 1921, NAI, DFA ES Spain.

77 Ibid.

78 O'Driscoll, Ireland, Germany and the Nazis, p. 31.

79 Nancy Wyse Power witness statement, third instalment, WS732, p. 7.

80 Nancy Wyse Power to Eamon de Valera, 5 Nov. 1921, NAI, DFA ES box 33, file 233.

81 John Chartres to Dublin, 2 Jan. 1922, NAI, DFA ES box 34, file 239.

82 O'Driscoll, Ireland, Germany and the Nazis, p. 20.

83 Nancy Wyse Power to Dublin, 31 Mar. 1922, NAI, DFA ES box 34, file 239(1).

84 Máire O'Brien report for July 1921, 2 Aug. 1921, NAI, DFA ES Spain.

85 Robert Brennan to Máire O'Brien, 23 Aug. 1921, ibid.

86 Father Cahill, ‘Ireland and Spain’, Sept. 1921, ibid.

87 Máire O'Brien, report for July 1921, 2 Aug. 1921, ibid.

88 Máire O'Brien to Erskine Childers, 27 June 1921, UCDA, Desmond FitzGerald papers, P80/23(5).

89 Robert Brennan to Máire O'Brien, 4 Oct. 1921, NLI, Máire O'Brien correspondence, MS 43,242/4.

90 Robert Brennan, ‘Department of Foreign Affairs memorandum’, 10 Aug. 1921, NAI, Dáil Éireann files 4/4/2.

91 Ibid.

92 George Gavan Duffy to Máire O'Brien, 14 Feb. 1922, Military Archives http://mspcsearch.militaryarchives.ie/docs/files//PDF_Pensions/R5/MSP34REF59976%20Maire%20Louise%20O'Brien/MSP34REF59976%20Maire%20Louise%20O'Brien.pdf.

93 George Gavan Duffy to Máire O'Brien, 18 Feb. 1922, ibid.

94 Ormond Grattan Esmonde to Desmond FitzGerald, 20 Sept. 1922, NAI, DFA ES Spain.

95 Ormond Grattan Esmonde to Desmond FitzGerald, 14 Sept. 1922, ibid.

96 Máire O'Brien to the secretary, Department of Defence, 11 June 1943, Military Archives http://mspcsearch.militaryarchives.ie/docs/files//PDF_Pensions/R5/MSP34REF59976%20Maire%20Louise%20O'Brien/MSP34REF59976%20Maire%20Louise%20O'Brien.pdf.

97 Ibid.

98 Art O'Brien to Máire O'Brien, 30 Oct. 1943, Military Archives http://mspcsearch.militaryarchives.ie/docs/files//PDF_Pensions/R5/MSP34REF59976%20Maire%20Louise%20O'Brien/MSP34REF59976%20Maire%20Louise%20O'Brien.pdf.

99 Foreign Office memorandum No. 1/1922, 25 Jan. 1922, NAI, DFA ES box 34, file 239.

100 John Chartres to George Gavan Duffy, 4 Feb. 1922, ibid.

101 George Gavan Duffy to John Chartres, 12 Feb. 1922, ibid.

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104 Nancy Wyse Power to Dublin, 31 Mar. 1922, ibid.

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106 Charles Bewley to Ernest Blythe, 17 July 1922, NAI, Department of the Taoiseach files, TSCH/3/S2305.

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