ABSTRACT
The Anglo–Irish Treaty's intricacies meant that the state's diplomacy was limited to commercial and consular activities, falling short of ambassadorial status. Analyses of the state's diplomatic relations have been vigorously inquiring, showing that the state used diplomacy to wend its cautious way in international affairs. They have, however, followed a well-trod narrative, assessing relations through the prism of politics and politicking, with diplomacy an adjunct, and propaganda glossed over. Diplomacy's importance went unappreciated domestically, where external affairs was often considered an indulgence for the small, new state with its myriad internal difficulties. The state's diplomatic propaganda was focussed more on counter-propaganda against real or perceived British threats than on boosting the state's international presence. Cumann na nGaedheal attempted a long-term strategy of incremental change, through considered challenges to British authority in Imperial Conferences and at the League. This achieved much, and Anglo–Irish relations, while rarely evincing genuine warmth, were respectful and professional.
