The Minister Requests a Dinner Service of Dignified Design and Bearing the Official Crest of the State: the Material Culture of the Irish Diplomatic Table

When Ireland gained independence n 1922 the Irish Free State entered a political landscape which had yet to recognise its sovereignity. Despite membership of the Commonwealth and the League of Nations, the newly formed government had little standing in the eyes of the international community. The Department of Foreign Affairs was put in place with the primary focus of obtaining official recognition of the new state. Drawing on Irish government archives, this paper will trace the material culture of the Irish state table during the first fifty years of independence.