Irish Race Congress only highlighted our deep divisions

With the signing of the Treaty, the World Congress of the Irish Race - designed to be an extravagant showcase of the solidarity and common purpose of the Irish race in the face of British aggression - was attended by pro- and anti-Treaty representatives and ended as a diplomatic embarrassment, Helene O’Keeffe

During the final session of the congress Eamonn de Valera was unanimously elected President of Fine Ghaedheal on the basis that it would never be used for party politics. He was to be accused by overseas delegates of his "flagrant breach" of the commitment to "absolute political neutrality".

In mid-January 1922, as Ireland continued to debate the merits and disappointments of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, preparations were afoot in the Hotel Continental in Paris to receive almost 100 international delegates to the World Congress of the Irish Race.

This elaborate gathering, intended to forge durable links between Ireland and her diaspora, was first proposed by the Irish Republican Association of South Africa in February 1921.