Editing W. T. Cosgrave (section)

===Foreign policy===
[[File:ImperialConference.jpg|thumb|400px|Cosgrave (standing, far-right, wearing the star and sash of the Order of Pope Pius IX) representing the [[Irish Free State]] at the [[1926 Imperial Conference]] in London, along with King [[George V]] and the Prime Ministers of the [[United Kingdom]], [[Canada]], [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]] and [[Union of South Africa|South Africa]]]]

Although Cosgrave and his government accepted dominion status for the Irish Free State, they did not trust the British to respect this new independence. The government embarked on fairly radical foreign initiatives. In 1923 the Irish Free State became a member of the [[League of Nations]]. The new state also became the first [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]] country to have a separate or non-British representative in [[Washington, D.C.]], and exchanged diplomats with many other European nations. In January 1926, Cosgrave was honoured by [[Pope Pius XI]] by making him the first Irishman to receive the rank of Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of Pope Pius IX]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116759546 |title=THE END OF HOLY YEAR. Honour for President Cosgrave. |newspaper=[[The Freeman's Journal (Sydney)|Freeman's Journal]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=21 January 1926 |accessdate=19 July 2022 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article258627864 |title=THE PIAN ORDER. A Rare Distinction. |newspaper=[[The Catholic Advocate]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=4 February 1926 |accessdate=19 July 2022 |page=53 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

The Anglo-Irish Treaty itself also gave the Irish much more independence than many other dominions. The [[Oath of Allegiance (Ireland)|Oath of Allegiance]] in the Irish Free State was much less [[monarchist]] than its equivalent in Canada or Australia. The king's representative in Ireland was Irish, unlike the other dominions, and although the head of state was the king, power was derived from the Irish people and not him. There were also questions raised about the word "treaty". The British claimed it was an internal affair while the Irish saw it as an international agreement between two independent states, a point which was accepted by the League of Nations when that body registered the Treaty as an international agreement in 1924.{{sfn|Jordan|2006|p=136}}

Even with these advances, the Irish Free State legally remained subject to the United Kingdom until 1931, when the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]] gave the Free State and the other dominions the right to the full independence of legislative and constitutional action. This step effectively made the Free State the internationally recognised independent, although still partitioned, Irish state, arguably fulfilling Collins' vision of the Treaty giving the Irish people "the freedom to achieve freedom."