Does an excellent job of explaining the impossible task Irish negotiators had in London, in 1921, in their negotiations with the British Government.
The Irish, after hundreds of years of trying to gain Independence, had finally got the British to the negotiation table. After a bloody war of Independence, a Truce was called with the British. Could the Irish get what they fought for; a Republic, independent of the British Empire ?
For the British, the danger was if they gave one colony Independence, it might encourage other colonies to seek Independence also, and risked breaking up the British Empire. Thus, removal of an oath of loyalty to the British King was a non-negotiable condition.
To complicate matters,the majority of citizens in the North East of the island, (in the Province of Ulster), did not want Independence.
As if the situation was not complicated enough, Ireland's political leader (Eamon De Valera), refrained from directly taking part in the negotiations (and instead sent a reluctant soldier/politician, Michael Collins instead).
This muddied the waters as to who was the decision makers on the Irish side were (the negation team in London, or De Valera back in Dublin) ?
When the British team (led by Prime Minister Loyd George), finally made their "sign the Treaty tonight, or the British Government will declare outright war" ultimatum, late one night, the Irish team in London were in an impossible situation. This movie captures the events, in a fair and balanced way (from both the Irish and British sides).
The excellent movie is surprisingly hard to get (not even on for sale, or rent on Amazon). Fortunately, it is available for free on YouTube. The picture quality is a bit fuzzy, but still wort watching.
Note: For anyone interested in the War of Independence, which preceded the Treaty, check out the movie: The Wind that shakes the Barley.
The Irish, after hundreds of years of trying to gain Independence, had finally got the British to the negotiation table. After a bloody war of Independence, a Truce was called with the British. Could the Irish get what they fought for; a Republic, independent of the British Empire ?
For the British, the danger was if they gave one colony Independence, it might encourage other colonies to seek Independence also, and risked breaking up the British Empire. Thus, removal of an oath of loyalty to the British King was a non-negotiable condition.
To complicate matters,the majority of citizens in the North East of the island, (in the Province of Ulster), did not want Independence.
As if the situation was not complicated enough, Ireland's political leader (Eamon De Valera), refrained from directly taking part in the negotiations (and instead sent a reluctant soldier/politician, Michael Collins instead).
This muddied the waters as to who was the decision makers on the Irish side were (the negation team in London, or De Valera back in Dublin) ?
When the British team (led by Prime Minister Loyd George), finally made their "sign the Treaty tonight, or the British Government will declare outright war" ultimatum, late one night, the Irish team in London were in an impossible situation. This movie captures the events, in a fair and balanced way (from both the Irish and British sides).
The excellent movie is surprisingly hard to get (not even on for sale, or rent on Amazon). Fortunately, it is available for free on YouTube. The picture quality is a bit fuzzy, but still wort watching.
Note: For anyone interested in the War of Independence, which preceded the Treaty, check out the movie: The Wind that shakes the Barley.