A Century of Change: The (In)visibility of Women in the Irish Foreign Service, 1919–2019

Women’s role and work in Irish foreign affairs has changed substantially over the last century. Women have been part of the Irish foreign policy landscape since the establishment of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs on 21 January 1919. But what role did women play in Irish foreign affairs? How did their role change over the last 100 years? And how were they viewed by senior diplomats in the DFA? Women’s contribution to Irish foreign affairs has been overlooked by diplomatic scholars and the purpose of this article is to highlight the contri- butions made by key women who conducted and shaped Ireland’s international relations throughout the twentieth century.