To what extent was the Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921 responsible for the Irish civil war?

Answer 1

The mix-ups and disagreemets in the Dáil cabinet over the Treaty led to the divisions that would later cause the civil war; i.e., de Valera and the hardline Republicans against Collins, Griffith, the moderates and most of the Irish popuation.

De Valera, along with Cathal Brugha, Austin Stack, and some of the IRA leaders, was unhappy with the Treaty that was signed by Collins, Griffith and the other delegates in London. He felt that it didn't offer Ireland a good deal, mostly because he had been hoping both to end partition and to introduce his 'external association' idea.

DeValera knew that a Republic would not be offered by Lloyd George. LG made this clear in their July 1920 meetings. It seems DeValera's biggest problem with the Treaty that he later used as a "stepping stone" was that he had not been consulted on it.

The delegates signed the Treaty for a number of reasons. Most of them saw it as a step in the direction of a Republic, and were happy to take it. Collins referred to it as a "stepping stone", but was aware that in signing it he had signed "his own death warrant".They wanted to put an end to the fighting in Ireland. They signed the Treaty without checking back with de Valera because the British PM, Lloyd George, insisted that their 'plenipotentiary status' (a technical description of what they were allowed and not allowed to do) meant they should be able to make up their own minds without de Valera's advice. In one of the greatest acts of political theatre LG held up two envelopes supposedly addressed for Sir James Craig in Belfast: one said agrreement had been reached; the other said it had not. Lloyd George claimed the latter meant immediate renewal of war. The Irish delegates signed.

When they got back to Dublin, de Valera called a cabinet meeting where the Treaty passed 4-3. The Dail then ratified the Treaty after heated debate by 64 votes to 57. When the pro-Treaty vote won, he left the Dáil along with his dedicated followers. During the Civil War, de Valera associated himself with the anti-Treaty, or Irregular, side.

The IRA leaders who started the fighting, including Rory O'Connor who captured the Four Courts in Dublin, did so because they felt the Treaty to be a betrayal of the Republic that was declared in the 1916 Rising and which they had already fought bitterly to protect - many of their comrades had died in defense of that idea of a republic and the Treaty wasn't enough for them. Even though Collins, who was head of the pro-Treaty side, instructed the IRA to fall in with his wishes, many of the commanders were used to ignoring authority and paid him no attention. They led the Irregulars during the Civil War.

Though DeValera's walk out and refusal to accept the democratic vote ("The majority has no right to do wrong") added his considerable weight behind the Irregulars. This gave them a greater amount of support from those loyal to DeValera, and his ''wading through the blood of our brothers'' also threw fuel on the fire. However, even without DeValera's backing there was a determined and extreme Republican element, lead by Liam Lynch, who would have fought for their ideals. They had taken an oath to an Irish Republic and weren't going to accept an oath of allegiance to the English King.