Une Mission Spéciale: Leopold Kerney’s Diplomatic Activities on Behalf of the Irish Republic in France, 1919–23

On 21 January 1919 two significant events happened in Ireland that reverberated across the world: the War of Independence began and Irish deputies convened a meeting of Dáil Éireann (Irish parliament) to declare independence from the British Empire. Despite emerging exhausted from the Great War, Britain was in no mood to acquiesce in any diminution of its imperial power and would use all means necessary to defeat this independence effort.