The period 1929 to 1939 is a neglected period in the study of Irish-American and American-Irish diplomacy. It was bookmarked by two wars and characterised by unfettered US capitalism which extended to the international stage and it ended with a global war arising from the unchecked rise of fascism spreading from Germany. There is much to be learned about bilateral diplomatic relations during this period of peace and gestating crises including changes of government from W.T. Cosgrave to Éamon de Valera and Herbert Hoover to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1933 respectively. It argues that not only did leadership matter in the operation of diplomacy but also the role and character of the diplomat vital and that his family should be examined to decipher how 'soft diplomacy' operated at this time.