By Benjamin Hazard
Published in Irish Studies in International Affairs, January 2025.
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Abstract

When the Irish foreign service was formed in 1919, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin lacked systematic policies for record-keeping. Based on a thorough understanding of the primary and secondary sources, this research focuses on the people, records management and material resources at work before the appointment of an official archivist in 1936. This article deals with the relevance of lawyers and journalists to the staff in Dublin, communication patterns, the employment of women, limited resources, legislation for records, and the influence of librarians during the period.