The Anglo-Irish Treaty (History of Irish Nationalism)

Revision on the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty

When was a truce called in the Anglo-Irish War?

11th July 1921

When were the preliminary discussions to negotiations?

14th-21st July 1921

How many times did Lloyd George and de Valera meet during the preliminary discussions?

4

When did Lloyd George give his first offer of dominion status?

20th July 1921

When did De Valera leave preliminary discussions?

21st July 1921

When did the Dail reject Lloyd George’s first offer of dominion status?

25th August 1921

When did De Valera first suggest external association as an appropriate solution?

10th August 1921

Name two hardline republicans that De Valera had to please

Brugha and Stack

When did Lloyd George hold a cabinet meeting in Inverness to reassure the cabinet that Ireland would remain in the Empire?

7th September 1921

When did Lloyd George offer an unconditional offer to negotiate?

29th September 1921

When did the Dail swear an oath to the republic?

16th August 1921

What did Pakenham say in relation to De Valera having already given up the republic by the end of the preliminary talks?

“The notion of an isolated republic was dead” (Pakenham)

Who was in the Irish delegation?

Collins, Griffith, Childers, Barton, Duffy, Duggan

Who were the most moderate Irish delegates?

Griffith and Collins

Who were the most hardline of the Irish delegates?

Childers and Barton

How did Cosgrave describe De Valera’s absence from negotiations?

Like “playing a vital match with their ablest player in reserve” (Cosgrave)

What did Collins accuse De Valera of when he learnt that De Valera would not be attending negotiations?

“Abdicating his responsibilities” (Collins)

Why was Collins suspicious of Childers and Barton?

He (correctly) suspected that they were undermining negotiations and feeding back to De Valera

What was Collins’ primary goal?

Achieve peace

How does Pakenham describe the roles of the plenipotentiaries?

“Paradoxical” (Pakenham)

Who was in the British delegation?

Lloyd George, Chamberlain, Birkenhead, Churchill, Greenwood, Jones

How does Geoghegan describe the British delegation?

“Incredibly impressive” (Geoghegan)

What were the two greatest strengths of the British delegation?

They were united on the issue of status, and had vastly superior experience in negotiation.

What was Lloyd George willing to threaten during negotiations?

A return to war.

Why were the British vulnerable on partition?

They had public support to return to war over status, but not over Ulster. However, they needed to retain Conservative support in the coalition government.

When did Lloyd George start negotiations proper with another offer of dominion status?

11th October 1921

When did the Irish respond with a counter-offer to Lloyd George’s second offer of dominion status?

24th October 1921

How many days after Lloyd George’s opening offer did the Irish respond with a counter-offer?

13 days

How does Rees describe the mistake of the Irish in waiting so long to produce a counter-offer?

“The Irish had allowed the PM to seize the initiative” (Rees)

After __ plenary meetings, Lloyd George suggested sub-conferences

7

According to Pakenham, sub-conferences allowed Lloyd George to add a _________ to negotiations

“Personal touch” (Pakenham)

Who did the British attempt to sideline with the subconferences?

Childers, Barton, Duffy

Who met as part of the sub-conferences?

Griffith, Collins, Lloyd George, Birkenhead

When does Lloyd George meet Griffith to discuss the censure motion?

30th October 1921

When does Griffith provide written confirmation that he will support Lloyd George in the Crown’s role in Ireland?

1st November 1921

Who proposed the Boundary Commission?

Jones

When did Jones propose the Boundary Commission?

9th November 1921

When did the Ulster Unionists reject Lloyd George’s attempts to ensure the Essential Unity of Ireland?

10th November 1921

Craig remained on his __________, looming over negotiations.

“Rock of partition”

When did Griffith formally accept the Boundary Commission?

12th November 1921

The Diehards expressed their __________ at negotiating with Sinn Fein after the violence of the Anglo-Irish War.

“Grave apprehension”

What did Pakenham say about the significance of accepting the Boundary Commission?

“If there was no 12 November there might have been no treaty” (Pakenham)

When did the British propose a draft treaty?

16th November 1921

When did the Irish respond to the draft treaty?

22nd November 1921

When did the British reject external association fully?

24th November 1921

When did the Dail accept the Crown (in some form), at least as a symbol?

25th November 1921

When did Lloyd George submit final proposals for the treaty?

1st December 1921

When did the Dail meet to debate wording of the Oath of Allegiance?

3rd December 1921

When does Chamberlain threaten to return to war?

4th December

What does Chamberlain say in his threat to end negotiations?

“That ends it” (Chamberlain)

Who visits Collins on 4th December 1921 to convince him to visit Lloyd George and resume negotiations?

Jones

When do negotiations start again after Chamberlain’s exhibition of brinkmanship?

5th December 1921

How does Lloyd George force the Irish to sign the treaty without consulting Dublin?

Lloyd George presented the document that Griffith had signed on 1st November 1921.

Lloyd George said that the Irish would have _________________ for any conflict that followed a failure to sign the treaty.

“Full responsibility for the war that would follow the refusal by any delegate to sign” (Lloyd George)

According to Pakenham, the Irish faced a ___________________ to sign

“A sense of inescapable personal responsibility” (Pakenham)

How did Collins describe signing the Treaty?

“I am signing my own death warrant” (Collins)

Approximately how many Diehard Conservatives were in the House of Commons?

50

Craig wrote to Chamberlain in criticism of the treaty, asking him to…

“Allow us to fight it ourselves” (Craig)

How did De Valera describe the signing of the Treaty?

“An act of disloyalty”

The cabinet voted to refer the treaty to the Dail by a majority of _______

4:3

When did the cabinet vote to refer the treaty to the Dail?

6th December 1921

When did De Valera announce his public opposition to the Treaty?

6th December 1921

When did debates on the treaty open in the Dail?

14th December 1921

When were private/secret discussions held on the treaty in Ireland?

15-16th December 1921

What document does De Valera propose as an alternative to the Treaty during the Dail’s secret talks?

Document 2

How does Griffith describe Document 2?

“Merely a quibble over words” (Griffith)

Collins stated that the Treaty provided Ireland with …

“Not the ultimate freedom that all nations aspire and develop to, but the freedom to achieve it” (Collins)

O’Higgins stated that the Treaty provided a …

“Broad measure of freedom for the Irish people” (O’Higgins)

According to Rees, the anti-Treaty side benefitted from ______________

“De Valera’s enormous prestige” (Rees)

When did the Dail announce it had voted in favour of the Treaty?

7th January 1921

The Dail voted in favour of the Treaty by a vote of _________

64 (in favour), 57 (against)