Taryba, the
Dáil selected a cabinet from its representatives; with ministries such as Defence, Finance, and Foreign Affairs forming what historian Arthur Mitchell has termed a ‘counter-state’.Footnote
18 At the head of the counter-state was Éamon de Valera, a mathematics teacher by profession, who was elected president of the
Dáil before travelling to America in the summer of 1919. At first, this counter-state had neither international recognition nor territorial integrity, but as the war progressed it took on more and more of the characteristics of a legitimate government. Abroad, a diplomatic network was established to agitate for international recognition.Footnote