21 June 2022
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
The travelling exhibition marks the centenary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921
The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives exhibition will stay until the 5 July. This follows a hugely successful three-month exhibition at Dublin Castle where the Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921 went on public display for the first time. The exhibition marks the centenary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (6 December 1921).
The exhibition is presented by the National Archives in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy, the National Library of Ireland and the Office of Public Works, with records from the collections of the Military Archives and University College Dublin. A virtual exhibition is also available online at www.nationalarchives.ie.
The Anglo-Irish Treaty is one of the most significant historical documents held by the National Archives. Using the Treaty as a centrepiece, the National Archives present an exhibition that marks its role as the official repository of the records of the State, one hundred years since its formation. The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives opens up significant historical records, official documents and private papers for the first time, including the first public presentation of both the Irish and British copes of the Treaty document.
Pictured is the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Colm Kelleher, at the opening of The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives exhibition at St. Peter’s Church, North Main Street, Cork on 9 June, where it will stay until the 5 July. This follows a hugely successful three-month exhibition at Dublin Castle where the Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921 went on public display for the first time. The exhibition marks the centenary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (6 December 1921).
Picture: Alison Miles /OSM PHOTO
Pictured at the opening of The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives exhibition at St. Peter’s Church, North Main Street, Cork on 9 June, where it will stay until the 5 July. This follows a hugely successful three-month exhibition at Dublin Castle where the Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921 went on public display for the first time. The exhibition marks the centenary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (6 December 1921).
Picture: Alison Miles /OSM PHOTO
Pictured is Zoe Reid, Keeper National Archives, at the opening of The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives exhibition at St. Peter’s Church, North Main Street, Cork on 9 June, where it will stay until the 5 July. This follows a hugely successful three-month exhibition at Dublin Castle where the Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921 went on public display for the first time. The exhibition marks the centenary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (6 December 1921).
Picture: Alison Miles /OSM PHOTO
Pictured is the Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Gillian Coughlan, at the opening of The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives exhibition at St. Peter’s Church, North Main Street, Cork on 9 June, where it will stay until the 5 July. This follows a hugely successful three-month exhibition at Dublin Castle where the Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921 went on public display for the first time. The exhibition marks the centenary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (6 December 1921).
Picture: Alison Miles /OSM PHOTO
Using contemporary reportage, images and footage, The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives locates the Treaty negotiations in the political context of the Irish revolution and a world turned upside down by the First World War. Beginning with the exploratory talks between Éamon de Valera, President of Dáil Éireann, and British Prime Minister David Lloyd George during the summer of 1921, it details the work of the Irish plenipotentiaries and their secretariat, by presenting the documentary record that they left behind.
The exhibition also chronicles day-to-day life in London for the men and women who made up the Irish delegation, from parties attended, dinners hosted and appearances at theatre and gala performances, to the tense final days and hours leading to the signing of the Treaty just after 2am on 6 December 1921. Finally, it documents the delegation’s return to Dublin, and the Dáil Éireann cabinet meeting that pointed to the split in the independence movement that emerged over the terms of the Treaty, and the divisions that would lead to Civil War.
Admission to the exhibition is free.
