Remarks by Ms Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, at the opening of The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives Exhibition, at the British Academy on 11 October 2021

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Ambassador, (Adrian O’Neill);

Professor Julia Black, President of the British Academy;

Ms Orlaith McBride, Director of the National Archives;

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for your warm welcome. Tá an-áthas orm a bheith anseo i Londain inniu don ócáid an-speisialta agus suimiúil seo.

It is a great honour to join you this evening at the British Academy for the opening of this wonderful exhibition - The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives.

I’m following in the footsteps of the Irish cabinet members that travelled to London 100 years ago to lead the Treaty negotiations delegation. The circumstances are very different, of course, but it is always a pleasure for me to visit this world capital right on our doorstep.

Since 2012, the Irish State has marked the centenaries of the significant historical events that took place between 1912 and 1923.

Our objective throughout the Decade of Centenaries Programme has been to stimulate public engagement, conversation and debate. The aim of the Programme has been to broaden sympathies, without having to abandon loyalties and, in particular to recognise the value of ideals and sacrifices, including their cost.

From the introduction of the third Home Rule bill in 1912 to the conclusion of the Civil War in 1923, the island of Ireland witnessed insurrection and conflict. The period also saw significant events such as, the First World War, the extension of franchise and suffrage to women and men, the introduction of partition and the foundation of new parliaments in both Belfast and Dublin.

From new technologies and medical advances to women’s rights – the Decade transformed politics, society and cultural identities across these islands. It was a period of profound historical change for both Great Britain and Ireland.

In the century since these events, our understanding of them and their lasting effects has changed and evolved with the passing years and generations.

My vision for the final and most challenging phase of the Government’s Decade of Centenaries Programme, is that the programming will inform authentic historic debate and understanding of the Treaty negotiations, the Dáil debates and the subsequent Civil War and will contribute towards considered reflection, remembrance and reconciliation.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Expert Advisory Group on Centenary Commemorations, under the thoughtful stewardship of Dr Maurice Manning (Chair) and Dr Martin Mansergh (Deputy Chair), for their careful and considered advice throughout the Decade of Centenaries Programme. The Group has been an invaluable resource for both Government and the Irish people.

Today marks 100 years since the beginning of talks here in London, between the British Government and the delegation representing Dáil Éireann that culminated in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921.

The significance of these negotiations cannot be underestimated, not only impacting on Great Britain and Ireland and the relationship between the two, but also the international dimension, attracting the attention of many men and women, with aspirations for independence, in far-flung parts of the British Empire.

On the 6th of December 1921, the negotiations concluded at ‘Number 10 Downing Street’, with the signature, by British and Irish negotiators, of ‘Articles of Agreement’ – better known as the Anglo-Irish Treaty (or the Treaty), providing a pathway for independence, for 26 of Ireland’s 32 counties, through the establishment of the Irish Free State one year later on the 6th of December 1922.

The Irish delegation led by Arthur Griffith, and including Michael Collins, Robert Barton, Eamon Duggan and George Gavan Duffy, was relatively young and faced an experienced British negotiation team led by the then Prime Minister David Lloyd George, as well as Austen Chamberlain, Lord Birkenhead and Winston Churchill.

The story of the negotiations and the experiences of the Irish delegation in London who negotiated it, is told through this superb and thoughtful exhibition.

I commend the collaborative approach between our National Archives, the British Academy, the Royal Irish Academy, and the Embassy of Ireland here in London, for leading this very impressive exhibition. It is clear that a huge amount of thought and care has gone into its curation and to supporting the associated programme.

Every part of the island of Ireland was touched by the War of Independence, the Truce and subsequent Treaty Negotiations. This Exhibition responds to the significance and importance of this centenary in extraordinary, imaginative and personal ways. It gives us an insight into the recollections of both the British and Irish delegates around the negotiating table in London, through records, photographs, documentation and correspondence held by institutions across these islands.

This inspired exhibition provides us with an opportunity to discover the roles and strategies members of both negotiating teams adopted in negotiating the ‘Articles’ and the many complex issues that arose in and around those negotiations such as empire, citizenship, identity, free trade, the role of minorities, defence and democratic representation.

The exhibition shines a light on the substantial contributions and motivations of the Irish men and women who formed the Irish Delegation, and their counterparts on the British side.

The Treaty negotiations and outcome are arguably one of the most significant events in our shared modern history. This exhibition illuminates the challenges the Treaty negotiations faced and the ways in which they sought to reconcile and resolve those challenges.

I wish to congratulate Director Orlaith McBride and her team at the National Archives including Karen Downey, Zoë Reid and Dr. John Gibney, the design team, EPIC and other partners for their work in exploring the complexities of the Negotiations.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the British Academy, the National Archives at Kew, the Royal Irish Academy, the Embassy of Ireland and all those who have worked so hard in recent months to bring this significant and important exhibition to us this evening.

I hope you are rewarded with a broad and curious audience and I wish all of you well with this superb exhibition. Tá mé ag súil freisin leis an taispeántas gaolmhar atá beartaithe don Teach Cóiste i gCaisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath a fheiceáil i mí na Nollag, b'fhéidir go mbuailfimid le chéile arís ansin, tá súil agam é.

Perhaps we’ll meet again later this year on the 6th December when this exhibition opens in the Coach House at Dublin Castle on the centenary of the signing of the Treaty, I hope so.

Go raibh maith agaibh uile agus go mbeidh tráthnóna maith agaibh.