The Irish Volunteers General Headquarters (GHQ) staff shaped the Irish War for Independence by establishing guidelines for ethical conduct. GHQ ordered and restrained the Volunteers' military operations to promote their image - both nationally and internationally - as a legitimate army operating within a Just War tradition. GHQ has been under-represented in literature on the Irish Revolution because of perpetuated misconceptions about the Headquarters' role and accusations of ineffectiveness outside Dublin. Some county brigade officers argued local initiative won the Irish a seat at the negotiating table, not central control. In reality, GHQ encouraged local initiative, as long as it aligned with their guidelines for ethical conduct. This thesis examines GHQ's strategic role in the Irish War for Independence and how they implemented central control. GHQ resolved to place Britain in the untenable position of a perpetual state of war, forcing them to choose between capitulating or replying with indiscriminate force and risking international condemnation. Knowing that guerrilla operations would likely provoke a disproportionate and indiscriminate response from Crown forces, GHQ crafted a strategy focused on legitimate targets and ethical guidelines around civilian liability. GHQ also realised that the British government considered a respectable code of conduct as a prerequisite for any peace negotiations. The Irish dominated the narrative battlespace by invoking the tradition of Irish rebellion. The British government's inconsistent narrative played a key role in ceding the battlefield to the Irish. [...]