Volume II in the Documents on Irish Foreign Policy series concerns the establishment of the Irish Free State as a sovereign, independent state on the international stage. The opening date of the volume, 6 December 1922, marks the establishment of the Irish Free State under the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. The closing date, 19 March 1926, is that of the Ultimate Financial Agreement between the Irish Free State and Britain. This volume presents the first exclusive account of the Irish government's policy towards the Boundary Commission, the relationship which was to define the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. The first steps in the creation of the state are chronicled, including Irelands admission to the League of Nations and the appointment of Irelands first overseas envoy, Professor T.A. Smiddy, as Minister Plenipotentiary to the US. Volume II offers close insight into the development of Irish-American relations and the fraught negotiations surrounding the Boundary Commission and its collapse. It is indispensable to historians of Irish foreign policy and the most authoritive record compiled of Ireland's fledgling diplomatic relations.
