The final Dublin Castle administration of 1920-1922 was formed by two cohorts, one Irish, one British. This book primarily focusses on the civil servants within those groups; their formative educational experiences influenced by legislation and provision and their early lives and careers. It broadly considers the contribution of the cohorts to the foundation of the Irish Free State, based on the hypothesis, that as counterbalance to extremism, they were an integral part of the British withdrawal from Ireland. Nonetheless, for the most part they are omitted from the historiography of the 'New Ireland'.
Over the past century, the narrative of the Free State has been focused on revolution and the heroes of violent and murderous outrage. However, there is another side to the 1922 coin.
As much as revolutionaries define Irish historiography, recognition is due to the Dublin Castle civil servants.
