Ireland at the League of Nations
League of Nations exhibition and publication to mark the end of the Decade of Centenaries
An exhibition, which will be on display in Dublin, Geneva, and the UN in New York, will mark 100 years since Ireland joined the League of Nations, heralding its arrival on the Global Stage.
The League of Nations was the first worldwide state-level political organisation, created in the aftermath of the First World War. Ireland joined the League on 10 September 1923, and did so to emphasise that it was a sovereign state and an autonomous actor in world affairs. League membership was an essential part of independent Ireland’s first steps on the international stage.
Marking the centenary of Ireland’s membership of the League of Nations, the National Archives has created an exhibition featuring records from its collections relating to Ireland’s membership of the League.
The records, which have never been on public display before, feature official documents, photographs, recollections, letters and ephemera, and chart the exciting early adventures of the new State as it began to forge an international position for itself.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Government of Ireland’s Decade of Centenaries’ 2012-2023 National Programme by the National Archives, Department of Foreign Affairs and the Royal Irish Academy.
Where to see the exhibition in Ireland
Ploughing Championships, Ratheniska, Co. Laois
19 – 21 September 2023
Culture Night, National Archives Foyer
22 September 2023
Dublin Festival of History
Print Works, Dublin Castle
29 September – 1 October 2023
Where to see the exhibition internationally
United Nations Building Geneva
Palais des Nation, 10 Geneva Dr 12533
26 September – 6 October 2023
United Nations Headquarters, New York
405, Lexington Avenue, 10174 New York
20 November -1 December 2023
Publication
The exhibition will be accompanied by the launch of the Book, On an Equal Footing with All, Ireland at the League of Nations 1923-1946 a programme of panel discussions and curated talks to encourage historical enquiry and the understanding of the impact and legacy of the events that helped shape the State.
The book is available from the Royal Irish Academy
Panel Discussions
An international gift that was never presented – The Geneva Window
Dublin Festival of History, Printworks, Poddle Room
The Cosgrave administration officially asked renowned stained glass artist Harry Clarke to design a window as Ireland’s present to the International Labour Office building in Geneva in 1927. The window was finished before Clarke passed away in January 1931, but it was never displayed.
Join Dr. John Gibney and Dr. Roisin Kennedy in discussion with Dr. Aoife Bhreathach to learn about the work of Harry Clarke, the commissioning of the window and how the censorship of literature impacted on the visual content and the attitudes of the people who commissioned the windows creation.
On an Equal Footing with All, Ireland at the League of Nations 1923-1946
Royal Irish Academy
Chaired by Rory Montgomery, Former Diplomat, a panel discussion with historians Dr. Michael Kennedy and Dr. John Gibney, Royal Irish Academy, on Ireland’s entry to the League of Nations, its presence in Geneva from its early beginnings to the final years leading up to the League’s dissolution in 1946.