Editing Anglo-Irish Treaty (section)

==Negotiations==
Days after the truce that ended the [[Irish War of Independence|Anglo-Irish War]], de Valera met Lloyd George in London four times in the week starting 14 July.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=138|title=Eamon de Valera to David Lloyd George from Eamon de Valera to David Lloyd George - 8 July 1921 - Documents on IRISH FOREIGN POLICY|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-date=14 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614132437/http://www.difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=138|url-status=live}}</ref> Lloyd George sent his initial proposals on 20 July that were very roughly in line with the treaty that was eventually signed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=141|title=David Lloyd George to Eamon de Valera from David Lloyd George to Eamon de Valera - 20 July 1921 - Documents on IRISH FOREIGN POLICY|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-date=17 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617132719/http://www.difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=141|url-status=live}}</ref> This was followed by months of delay until October, when the Irish delegates set up headquarters in 22 [[Hans Place]], [[Knightsbridge]].

The first two weeks of the negotiations were spent in formal sessions. Upon the request of Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins, the two delegations began informal negotiations, in which only two members of each negotiating team were allowed to attend. On the Irish side, these members were always Collins and Griffith, while on the British side, [[Austen Chamberlain]] always attended, though the second British negotiator would vary from day to day. In late November, the Irish delegation returned to Dublin to consult the cabinet according to their instructions, and again on 3 December.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=209|title=Copy of secretary's notes of meeting of the cabinet and delegation held 3 December 1921 from Cabinet minutes - 3 December 1921 - Documents on IRISH FOREIGN POLICY|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-date=11 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311194221/http://www.difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=209|url-status=live}}</ref> Many points still had to be resolved, mainly surrounding the form of an oath to the monarch, but it was clear to all the politicians involved by this stage that a unitary 32-county Irish Republic was not on offer.
[[File:Prayer vigil outside the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations, July 1921.jpg|thumb|Crowds holding a prayer vigil outside Whitehall, while negotiations are underway inside]]

When they returned, Collins and Griffith hammered out the final details of the treaty, which included British concessions on the wording of the oath and the defence and trade clauses, along with the addition of a [[Irish Boundary Commission|boundary commission]] to the treaty and a clause upholding Irish unity. Collins and Griffith in turn convinced the other plenipotentiaries to sign the treaty. The final decisions to sign the treaty was made in private discussions at 22 [[Hans Place]] at 11:15am on 5 December 1921. The Treaty was signed soon after 2 in the morning on 6 December, in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing St.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rowland|first=Peter|title=Lloyd George|year=1975|publisher=Barrie & Jenkins|location=London|isbn=0214200493|page=555|chapter=12: The Man at the Top, 1918-1922}}</ref>

Michael Collins later claimed that at the last minute Lloyd George threatened the Irish delegates with a renewal of "terrible and immediate war"<ref>The phrase was also cited as "immediate and terrible war". See: Collins M., "The Path to Freedom Notes by General Michael Collins", August 1922; Collins did not state that the remark was made solely to Barton, implying that the whole Irish delegation had heard it: "The threat of 'immediate and terrible war' did not matter overmuch to me. The position appeared to be then exactly as it appears now. The British would not, I think, have declared terrible and immediate war upon us."</ref> if the Treaty was not signed at once. This was not specifically called "a threat" in an Irish memorandum about the close of negotiations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=213|title=Notes by Robert Barton of two sub-conferences held on December&nbsp;5/6, 1921 at 10 Downing St.|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-date=7 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307200014/http://difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=213|url-status=live}}</ref> Barton noted that:

{{blockquote|At one time he (Lloyd George) particularly addressed himself to me and said very solemnly that those who were not for peace must take full responsibility for the war that would immediately follow refusal by any Delegate to sign the Articles of Agreement.}}

[[George Gavan Duffy]] (a member of the Irish delegation) described the pressure placed on them to sign the treaty:

{{blockquote|...the alternative to our signing that particular Treaty was immediate war...we had to make the choice within three hours and to make it without reference to our Cabinet, to our Parliament or to our people...We lost the Republic in order to save the people of Ireland.}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallagher |first=Frank |author-link= |date=1957 |title=The Indivisible Island |url= |location=London |publisher=Victor Gollancz Ltd. |page=155 |isbn=}}</ref>

Several months after the signing of the treaty (16 February 1922) Winston Churchill spoke in the British Parliament on the consequences the Irish delegation refusing to sign the treaty:

{{blockquote|...if we had had to break off the Conference, destroy the negotiations, and embark upon what was literally the re-conquest of Ireland, at enormous expense in money and in men, to embark upon bloodshed, upon a far larger scale than anything that had ever occurred....}}<ref>{{cite speech |title=Irish Free State Agreement |author=Winston Churchill |author-link= |date=16 February 1922 |location=British House of Commons |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1922/feb/16/irish-free-state-agreement-bill |access-date= 2 April 2024}}</ref>

Éamon de Valera called a cabinet meeting to discuss the treaty on 8 December, where he came out against the treaty as signed. The cabinet decided by four votes to three to recommend the treaty to the Dáil on 14 December.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=215|title=Minutes of a Cabinet Meeting held on 8&nbsp;December 1921|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306021251/http://difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=215|url-status=live}}</ref>

The contents of the treaty divided the Irish Republic's leadership, with de Valera leading the anti-treaty minority. The Treaty Debates were difficult but also comprised a wider and robust stock-taking of the position by the contending parties. Their differing views of the past and their hopes for the future were made public. The focus had to be on the constitutional options, but little mention was made of the economy, nor of how life would now be improved for the majority of the population. Though [[Sinn Féin]] had also campaigned to preserve the Irish language, very little use was made of it in the debates. Some of the female TDs were notably in favour of continuing the war until a 32-county state was established. Much mention was made of "700 years" of British occupation. Personal bitterness developed; Arthur Griffith said of [[Erskine Childers (author)|Erskine Childers]]: "I will not reply to any damned Englishman in this Assembly", and [[Cathal Brugha]] reminded everyone that the position of Michael Collins in the IRA was technically inferior to his.

The main dispute was centred on the status as a dominion (as represented by the Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity) rather than as an independent republic, but the [[Partition of Ireland]] was a significant matter for dissent. Ulstermen like [[Seán MacEntee]] spoke strongly against the partition clause.<ref>[http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/DT/D.T.192112220002.html Dáil Éireann – Volume 3 – 22 December 1921 Debate on Treaty] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607134016/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/DT/D.T.192112220002.html |date=7 June 2011 }}</ref> The Dáil voted to approve the treaty but the objectors refused to accept it, leading eventually to the [[Irish Civil War]]. MacEntee was among their leaders.