Irish Studies in International Affairs

Abstract:

The value of the Irish Free State's contribution to the development of dominion sovereignty is a source of debate amongst historians. This article contends that the Irish Free State was at the forefront of the dominions' pursuit of sovereignty between 1922 and 1932. It looks at the state's acquisition of a uniquely Irish Great Seal and the right of direct access to the king, and seeks to explain why, in early 1931, the Irish Free State government decided to break with the procedures for seeking to advise the king that had operated up to that point. The article also analyses the motivations behind the British government's desire to retain the procedures as they existed prior to March 1931. It shows how Irish Free State officials used the state's constitutional relationship with the king to increase Irish independence from the British government, and to enhance the Free State's external sovereignty.