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Taoiseach launches "Treaty" online exhibition at National Archives

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Arts Minister Jimmy Deenihan today launched the new  "Treaty" Online Exhibition at the National Archives in Dublin. 

Speaking at the launch, the Taoiseach said...

The 90th anniversary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty is looming. It’s a document which has shaped modern Irish history from the moment it was signed. This took place in the aftermath of the truce which ended the War of Independence in dramatic circumstances in 10 Downing Street in the early hours of Tuesday 6 December 1921. The Treaty established the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion with independence in virtually all matters of practical government, together with complete control of its resources. 

It is probably true to say that only a tiny minority of Irish people have ever seen the actual Treaty document itself. The Treaty document that forms the centerpiece of this exhibition is completely unique in that it is the original Irish document. Its British counterpart, held by the National Archives of the United Kingdom, which some of you may have already seen, differs in that the signatures are juxtaposed – the English delegates have signed on the left, the Irish on the right.

Documents will be released on the exhibition website from today on a daily basis to coincide with the 90

th

anniversary date of the documents themselves, culminating in the online release of the Treaty on Tuesday 6 December.

 In this exhibition you will also see that Michael Collins received a critical advance loan of £50 to cover his expenses in travelling to England for the opening of the Treaty negotiations on 11 October 1921, remarking that:

"

I have about £3 in my pocket. It would be serious if I could not give a porter a tip in Holyhead

."

Some of the exhibition components include

  • High quality images of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921;

  •  A searchable gallery of selected documents relating to the negotiations drawn from the Dáil Éireann archives;

  • ‘Treaty Reflections’ – representatives of the NAI’s key stakeholders and constituents give their reflections on the significance of the Treaty for Ireland 90 years later (It includes contributions from former Ministers and TDs: Nora Owen, and Martin Mansergh);

  • A National Archives’ video entitled ‘Treating the Treaty’, giving a behind-the-scenes insight into the work of National Archives’ staff in preserving this pivotal State document entrusted to our care;

  • British Pathé news clip on the aftermath of the Treaty signing featuring footage of some of the members of the Irish and British delegations outside Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street where the agreement was signed;

  •  Biographies of the Irish and British signatories taken from the Dictionary of Irish Biography and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, kindly provided gratis by the Royal Irish Academy/Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press;

  •  Dáil Éireann archives searchable finding aid which includes digitised cabinet minutes from 1919–1922, never before seen online;

  •   The portraits by Sir John Lavery of the Irish and British delegates, sourced from the Hugh Lane Gallery; and

  • A Timeline of events (1919–1922)

Read the Taoiseach's full speech here

Read the full press release here.