the anglo-irish treaty

The Treaty Negotiations

New Title: The treaty negotiationsKeywords• Anglo-Irish treaty• Dominion Status• Boundary Commission• Plenipotentiary• External association• British commonwealth• Oath of Allegiance

Early negotiations Aug-Sept 1921• A truce had been agreed in July• Letters were exchanged between DeValera and

Lloyd George in August and September • Central problem remained: Irish wanting full

independence – British wanting Ireland to remain within the empire.

• DeValera wanted complete independence, Britain offered ‘Dominion status’ similar to what Austrailia and Canada already had

Choosing the Irish Delegation

• When choosing the delegation, DeValera shocked his cabinet by refusing to lead the negotiations

Was DeValera right not to go?No:• He was the most experienced

politician and had already been in London

• He compromise was inevitable and so did not want to take responsibility for not achieving complete independence

Yes:• He could influence hard-line

republicans better while in Ireland

• Delegate would have to refer back to him before signing any treaty and therefore give them time to think

War of Independence into Treaty

https://youtu.be/vV2gzXhz8o8?t=853

Negotiations Teams The Irish:Passionate but relatively inexperienced negotiators• Michael Collins• Robert Barton• Arthur Griffith• Eamon Duggan & George Gavan Duffy

(chosen because of their legal knowledge)

• Erskine Childers was the Secretary• They were given plenipotentiary

status

The British: All were very experienced politicians and negotiators• Lloyd George

(Prime Minster)• Winston Churchill, • Lord Birkenhead• Austen Chamberlain

Plenipotentiaries• This is the power given to Collins and the delegates

to sign any treaty on behalf of Ireland• The written position was that they had full powers

to come to agreement with the British • They were given verbal instructions (not written

down) that suggested that they should refer back to the Dail (and DeValera) before any decisions were made

• Lloyd George invites De Valera to send a delegation to London to negotiate

• In agreeing to go, it can be argued that Sinn Fein had accepted that some form of compromise was inevitable

• Also could be argued that DeValera didn’t attend as he knew a compromise would be unpopular

Negotiations Begin

• The British team was determined to make Sinn Féin accept Crown and Empire

• The British had ‘home advantage’ as negotiations took place in London. This gave a certain psychological advantage to them

• The Irish delegation were later accused of being ‘wined & dined’ by the British and charmed into agreeing a deal

Strengths and Weaknesses

British terms of negotiations

There was to be free trade between Britain and Ireland.

Ireland was to grant Britain use of its air and naval facilities.

The Irish army was to be limited and the British could recruit soldiers in Ireland.

Irish politicians would have to swear an oath of allegiance to the King/Queen

A border the border with Northern Ireland would be redrawn later

Ireland would remain part of the British Empire

Irish terms of negotiations

There was to be free trade between Britain and Ireland.

A united Ireland with Dublin ruling the whole island

External association recognising Ireland’s ‘special relationship’ with Britain

Be completely independent. Not even remain in the commonwealth

No oath of allegiance to Britain, it’s king or commonwealth

All ports and territory to be given up by the British

Issues of Contention:

1. Sovereignty – Sinn Féin wanted complete independence, but DeValera had already recognised how this would be politically impossible for Britain and had therefore developed the concept of ‘External Association’.2. Partition – As the Government of Ireland Act (1920) had already established the Northern Ireland State, this issue would be ‘off the table’ as far as the British Government was concerned.3. Allegiance – Whatever the degree of separation that came about by the end of the Treaty negotiations, Britain was determined that Ireland remain within the sphere of British influence & the British Commonwealth. An oath of allegiance was the best way of doing this.

Why did the British want these things? • They feared that Ireland could be used by an enemy to

attack Britain in the future. (Were they right? Nazis?)• They wanted to protect the British Empire and avoid giving

a boost to independence movements in places like India. • Lloyd George could not give too many concessions because

of the Conservatives (Like Churchill)• They wanted to protect the Ulster unionists

What the Irish wanted? • The aim was a united Ireland and some loose connection

with the Empire • De Valera called it ‘external association’• The idea of an oath was unacceptable• The Irish did not have a clear strategy of how to

compromise on their aspirations and we inexperienced negotiators

• This frustrated the British

The Negotiations • Dragged on for two months• Eventually, the Irish team had been instructed to accept

‘Free State’ for ‘Republic’ and ‘to recognise the King as head of the Commonwealth’ instead of allegiance to the Crown

• The British defence requirements were met without a problem

• For Britain the key point was the oath and Irish allegiance to the crown and dominion status

• For the British the position of external association was unacceptable

• The oath was modified to try to meet Irish sensitivities but, for ardent republicans, the symbolism remained

• The British had proposed a Boundary Commission to determine the border between Ulster and the rest of Ireland

• This would involve the transfer of large sections of the 6 counties to the South

• It would meet after negotiations to redraw the border between North and South

The Negotiations

Video Clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeKm4LoAAiU

The End of Negotiations • The Irish delegation was divided • The British had become tired of Irish stalling

of the negotiations• Lloyd George then threatened war if the Irish

delegates did not agree• The delegates finally signed the Anglo-Irish

treaty at 2am on December 6th 1921

Mind Map: What was signed?

Treaty Negotiations

1921

What was signed?• Ireland was to be given dominion status with a Governor-

General represent the King.• All members of the Dáil would take an oath of allegiance to

the British Crown.• The British would hold onto the “Treaty Ports” of Berehaven,

Cobh and Lough Swilly.• Boundary Commission was to be established to properly

determine the border between Northern Ireland and the Free State.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owle-LyXWYg

Reaction to the treaty• The treaty was debated in the Dail between19th

December and 7th of January• De Valera and the anti-treaty side saw it as a betrayal• Collins called it the “freedom to achieve freedom”• Most people in the country supported its passing and

wanted to get on with their lives after years of war

• When the vote was taken in the Dail, it was passed by 64 votes to 57 votes.

• The anti-treaty members walked out of the Dail and refused to return as long as there was a oath of allegiance

• However, anti-treaty supporters resolved to fight the implementation of the treaty

• What was to follow was the Irish civil war

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl66ixAXm_A