Birth of a State

The Irish state came into being as a result of the Anglo-IrishTreaty of 1921. Signed by a Sinn Fin delegation and theBritish government at 10 Downing Street in the early hours of 6 December that year, the Treaty was the culmination ofboth a revolutionary movement that had begun in the previousdecade and of centuries of separate nationalist attempts togain autonomy from the United Kingdom.Although it is the founding document of the Irish state, the Treaty has been the subject of very little critical analysis,certainly in proportion to its significance. In its centenary year,this book examines the Treatys legacy and its implicationsfor the state that it created. It explores three key elements ofthe Treaty: the contemporary circumstances that producedit; its significance from a comparative and an internationalperspective; and its historical and political consequences.Birth of a Stateis unique in that it is written by academicsfrom two different disciplines history and political science who each bring their own perspectives on the Treaty and itsimpact, both then and now.