Reaction to the Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921
What was agreed
1. Ireland was to be given dominion
status. The representative of the crown was to be the Governor-General.
2. All members of the Free State Dáil
were to take an oath of allegiance to the British Crown.
3. British defence requirements were
accommodated with the “Treaty Ports” of Berehaven, Cobh and Lough Swilly.
4. A Boundary Commission was to be
established to properly determine the border between Northern Ireland and the
Free State.
5. A Council of Ireland was to be elected
if the Northern Ireland parliament chose to come into the Free State.
The Cabinet Meeting
1. The Cabinet was divided on the Treaty.
2. De Valera was furious that it had been
signed without his permission.
3. There was a vote in the cabinet and
four members were in favour: they were Collins, Griffith, Barton and Cosgrave.
De Valera, Brugha and Stack were against the treaty.
4. De Valera issued a public statement
condemning the treaty as being “in violent conflict with the wishes of the
majority of this nation as expressed freely in successive elections during the
past three years”.
5. The decision on the Treaty then went
to the Dáil.
THE
TREATY DEBATE: 19th DECEMBER – 7th JANUARY
For the Treaty
1. Military: Lloyd George had
argued that the alternative was war and the British had not been defeated. The
IRA had been weakened as it leaders had been exposed and its arms depleted and
its spy network uncovered. Lloyd George had been embarrassed by the Black and
Tans but if the Treaty were turned down the British would be more ruthless than
before.
2. “Freedom to achieve freedom”
argument: although republicans realised the treaty was flawed, some
accepted the treaty as it was the first step to full independence. This was
argued strongly by Collins who presented the stepping stone argument. The
Treaty, he said, “gives us freedom, not the ultimate freedom that all
nations deserve, but the freedom to achieve it”. He had support from Kevin
O'Higgins.
3. Dominion Status: Collins
pointed out the advantages of Dominion status; alone Ireland - a relatively
small, militarily weak country - would be isolated.
4. The advantages of the treaty
compared with Home Rule: The gains which had been made in the Treaty - full
rights of self-government and fiscal control, the flag, the evacuation of the
British troops and the right to negotiate as equals - all these were much more
extensive than the Home Rule of 1912.
Against the Treaty
1. The oath of allegiance was the
crucial issue for both the hard-line republican opponents and the moderate
republicans who favoured re-negotiation on the basis of external association.
2. De Valera’s position is
interesting: a number of historians have judged that he set out to wreck the
treaty to destroy his political rivals, whereas others say that he was sincere
in his pursuit of external association.
3. There were a number of hard-line
opponents whose belief in the republic was dominated by emotionalism and they
were not interested in subtle political arguments; these included Stack,
Brugha, Mary MacSweeney, Kathleen Clarke and Constance Markievicz. These people
took the sinister decision that they would not accept the majority decision of
the Dáil; any compromise to the achievement of the republic was betrayal.
4. Moderate republicans also opposed
on the basis of the oath arguing that it gave the King too much power and that
Dominion status meant that Ireland was vulnerable to interference from Britain
because of her geographical proximity and her port facilities, which would have
been important in war-time.
5. Partition did not really feature in
the debates to any significant degree.
The Result
1. There was strong popular support for
the Treaty; many people wanted peace and to begin re-building their lives.
2. Twenty county councils passed
resolutions in favour.
3. Some TDs were influenced by
popular opinion particularly when they returned home to their constituencies at
Christmas - others were not.
4. The vote in the Dáil was close; it
was passed by 64 votes to 57 votes.
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