External association
Hypothetical relationship between Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
External association was a hypothetical relationship between Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations proposed by Éamon de Valera in 1921–1922, whereby Ireland would be a sovereign state associated with, but not a member of, the Commonwealth; the British monarch would be head of the association, but not head of state of Ireland. De Valera proposed external association as a compromise between isolationist Irish republicanism on the one hand and Dominion status on the other.[1] Whereas a full republic could not be a member of the Commonwealth until the London Declaration of 1949, a Dominion could not be fully independent until the Statute of Westminster 1931.
External association was never implemented as such; however, de Valera's 1930s diplomacy reflected similar ideas, as did the Commonwealth's London Declaration.