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On Easter Monday, 1916, a group of Irish men and women proclaimed a free Irish Republic, which looked forward to the establishment of a native Government elected on the principle of self-determination.

The first formal meeting of the Irish Parliament, Dáil Éireann, took place on 21 January 1919. Its key strategy was to seek international recognition for Irish Independence. This resulted in the global distribution of a Communication, which included a version in Portuguese addressed to Brazil’s Parliament dated January 1921.

A second strategy of the first Dáil was to successfully promote Ireland’s political interests through the international press based in Dublin and London, as reflected in the coverage given by Brazilian newspapers to events in Ireland at the time, especially by Rio de Janeiro’s Correio da Manhã.

Curiously, a document entitled “Some Notes on the History of the Fenian Club” reached Brazil’s Parliament in 1921. The club, founded in Rio in 1869 as a carnaval club, helped finance the freedom of slaves, and was inspired by the Fenian movement which in the 1860s helped finance Ireland’s struggle for independence.

With the signature of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, Ireland entered a new chapter in its history. The Treaty saw an end to the War of Independence, and the establishment of an Irish state made up of 26 counties, with six Ulster counties administered by a devolved Government within the United Kingdom.

Raul Vachies was Brazil’s first Consul in Dublin. In 1931 he wrote a book, Irlanda, about Irish revolutions, economics, and bilateral relations. In October 1931 the first-ever commercial agreement between the two countries was signed.

In the first two decades after Ireland achieved independence in 1922, the institutions of the State were consolidated and a tradition of political stability established. The Constitution of Ireland of 1937, provides that Ireland (Éire in Irish) is the official name of the State.