Characteristically compact, pithy, and to the point, Collins nutshells the national situation with an unsparing overview of its strengths and challenges.
“We took as much of the government of Ireland out of the hands of the enemy as we could, but we could not grasp all of it because he used the whole of his forces to prevent us doing so, and we were unable to beat him out of the country by force of arms. But neither had he beaten us. We had made Ireland too uncomfortable for him. There were too many ambush positions in country areas, and too many gloomy street corners in Cork and Dublin. The British had not surrendered and had no need to agree to humiliating terms any more than we would have done. It was time for a settlement that would secure for us their withdrawal and evacuation. There was duress, of course. On their side, the pressure of world opinion to conform their practice to their professions, to make an honourable peace with us. On our side, the duress the weaker nation suffers against the stronger, the duress to accept really substantial terms.”
Although his comments can hardly be improved upon, we might extrapolate on his last sentence above: meaning, the duress any responsible representatives in his position must/might/should feel, not to come back empty-handed. Much has been said about what the Treaty negotiators did not win in their first wrangle with London. Does anyone consider what the sequel must have been, had they brought back nothing at all? If, in their hands, the talks had failed, and Ireland’s first chance in centuries to win anything like independence had been lost? If all the bloodshed and suffering had led only to more of the same, with chances of an advantageous settlement out of reach, perhaps for decades to come?
It was an outcome all too possible, continually threatened and discussed, throughout the negotiations. Certainly this must have been in the forefront of every thoughtful representative’s mind, at that table.
Yet it’s hardly examined in historical discussions today.
(More full quotes from Collins on this period:
“Threats played no part in signing the Treaty.”)
Read more
“The Assassination of Michael Collins:
What Happened At Béal na mBláth?”
by S M Sigerson
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The Assassination of Michael Collins: What Happened At Béal na mBláth? 