ARGUMENTS AFTER SIGNING THE TREATY Law and order had broken down in many parts of the country during the period of the truce. Most people in Ireland were tired of war and longed for a return to normal life. Most people around the country warmly received the signing of the treaty and felt joy and relief. They saw it as a guarantee of peace and the removal of the British army and the hated Black and Tans.

Some die hard republicans were disgusted and dismayed at the failure to achieve an independent republic and believed that Ireland should not settle for anything less. They had fought for a Republic and did accept anything that fell short of this goal. De Valera was absolutely opposed to the Treaty and was furious that it had been signed without his permission.

De Valera along with Cathal Brugha and Austin Stack wanted the Treaty to be rejected straight away. They were over ruled by the other 4 members of the Cabinet (Collins, Griffith, Barton and Cosgrave) who insisted that the Dail would have to take a vote on whether the Treaty was accepted by the Irish people.

Before the Dail met De Valera issued a statement condemning the Treaty and saying that it went against what the Irish people had voted for since Collins as President of the IRB got its Supreme Council to support the Treaty in a secret meeting.

The Treaty debates : Dec 14-Jan 7th De Valera rejected the Treaty and put forward his own ideas in what became known as “Document No. 2” – he again argued for his idea of “external association.” This made no-one happy – pro- Treaty people pointed out that the British had repeatedly refused to agree to this idea and anti-treaty people didn’t like it because it was still less than a Republic. De Valera withdrew the proposal.

The Dail debate began on the 19 th of December. Collins and Griffith proposed that TDs accept the Treaty. De Valera seconded by Austin Stack argued that TDs should reject it.

In the discussions very few TDs mentioned partition and most seemed to accept that the Boundary Commission would mean that the exclusion of Ulster would be a temporary measure.

The Case Against the Treaty The Anti Treaty group could be divided into two groups. 1) Hard Line Republicans They said that the Treaty betrayed the sacrifices of those who fought and died for a Republic in 1916 and during the War of Independence. They were purists and would accept nothing less than a Republic. They were uncompromising and were willing to fight on for republic.

They also argued that all TDs in the Dail had taken an oath to the Republic and could not break this oath by making an oath to the crown. They argued that the Treaty must be rejected, and if this meant war then the Irish people must be willing to fight on until the Republic were achieved.

Stack, Brugha and others including Markievicz were of this view. They made it clear that they would not accept the decision of the Dail if they lost.

Moderate anti-treaty Republicans They objected to the Oath of Allegiance that made the British King head of the Irish State. De Valera argued this made the British the political masters in Ireland. They said that although Britain did not use its right to interfere in Dominions like Canada because they were far away but that Ireland was on Britain's doorstep and they could not be trusted to interfere in internal Irish affairs.

They disliked the rights that the British Navy and air force had to use Irish ports and air facilities. The moderate anti-treaty people did not want a return to war and felt some compromise deal would have to be done with Britain. They felt the Treaty was not good enough and wanted to send the delegates back to London to negotiate again.

The Pro-Treaty arguments. 1) The Military Argument : Mulcahy and Collins argued strongly that rejection would lead to war with Britain and that the IRA could not fight that war for long and had no chance of winning. They also said that the Irish people had supported the war of Independence but were tired of war and would not support a return to war.

2) The step by step argument : Collins in particular argued that although the Treat did not grant full independence it could be used as a stepping stone to reaching that goal. He said it “ gives us freedom, not the ultimate freedom that all nations desire and develop to, but the freedom to achieve it.”

3) It was a big improvement on Home Rule : Griffiths argued that dominion status gave Ireland an amount of freedom and control over its affairs that would not have been believed possible even 10 years before. He reminded TDs that British troops were leaving Ireland could fly its own flag and join the League of Nations and was equal with all the other countries in the commonwealth. Ireland had control over taxes and spending.

4) Other dominions would make sure that Britain did not interfere in Ireland. Collins said that they would act as “guarantors of our freedom”. Vote – 7 th January : 64 for, 57 against.