Tea with Ambassador Martin Fraser - 5th December 2022

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Alison Gilliland attended the King’s Inns this evening (7th January) where the Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney and H.E the British Ambassador to Ireland Mr Paul Johnston co-launched a book on the ‘Men and Women of the Anglo-Irish Treaty Delegations 1921’.

The Hon. (Judge) Bernard Barton, who is a distant relative and family acquaintance of Irish Delegation member Robert Barton, welcomed Lord Mayor Gilliland, Minister Coveney, Ambassador Johnston and all the descendants to the launch this evening in what he described as ‘a historic occasion as we focus on the people involved at this critical time in our history’.

The book, which has been published by the descendants, is edited by Fiona Murray and Eda Sagarra, both of whom are descendants of members of the Irish Delegation to London in 1921. The authors acknowledge the assistance of the British Embassy (Dublin), the Meath Archaeological and Historical Society and a wide range of individuals and agencies in the publication of this important record.

Contained in this record is a brief history of the events of late 1921, when a group of over 70 men and women departed Dublin to participate in negotiations with a high profile British delegation, which included The Prime Minister, Lloyd George; The Secretary of the Colonies, Winston Churchill, The Lord Chancellor, Lord Birkenhead and the Leader of the House, Austen Chamberlain. There is a brief account of the main participants on British side in the book.

The main members of the Irish Delegation, Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins, Robert Barton, George Gavan Duffy and Eamon Duggan are well known and widely documented; the publication of this book is perhaps the first time we are given an insight into the 65 or so other men and women who played such an important role in supporting the treaty discussions.  We find a brief account of many of these largely ignored and forgotten people, mostly written by a descendant, with previously unpublished material from family archives and some personal mementos of their time together in London. 

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alison Gilliland said this evening, “I am particularly delighted to see this publication. For too long the women who formed part of the delegation to London have been forgotten. Kathleen McKenna, Elizabeth (Lily) O'Brennan, Gerty Conry, Ellie and Alice Lyons played a key role as the secretariat to the negotiators. They were also trusted compatriots. This books allows us to realise and acknowledge their significance during this crucial period of our history”. 

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said this evening, “I welcome the launch of this well-researched, engaging, and inclusive collection, which is a fitting tribute to the men and women of the Anglo-Irish Treaty delegations”.

The British Ambassador to Ireland Mr Paul Johnston said this evening, “The Anglo-Irish Treaty marked a significant shift in political relations across the UK and Ireland. I would like to congratulate all of the descendants who produced this excellent book, ‘The Men & Women of the Anglo-Irish Treaty Negotiations 1921'. The Embassy is pleased to support the project. It is a work full of interest and insight, and charts the personalities and contributions of people both well-known and little-known who contributed to the Treaty negotiations. Their descendants have created a fitting tribute to the dedication and public service of those delegates”

In attendance at the launch this evening were over eighty descendants of the Irish delegation members, some direct descendants. Joint editor Fiona Murray said today, “The origins of this commemorative volume dates back to mid 2017, when a small group of the grandchildren of Diarmaid Fawsitt (Irish Delegation member), including myself, came together to research his life and work. Later we agreed to broaden our research to include as far as possible all who had been major and minor players in the negotiations.  This led to the establishment of a steering group which communicated with An Taoiseach and the Expert Advisory Group on the Decade of Centenaries and initiated the holding of a conference on the Treaty with UCC which was held in October 2021 ‘Negotiating the Negotiations’. In addition we have developed a website, published this volume and arranged this historic gathering at the King’s Inns this evening to launch the book”

Joint editor Eda Sagarra, a granddaughter of Irish delegation member T.A. Smiddy, said this evening, “This is an important record as it highlights the identity of a largely forgotten group of men and women who made such a valuable contribution at a critical time in our history. The identities of some 70 delegation members and their descendants were traced in various ways: personal knowledge; painstaking trawls through archives; histories of the period; genealogical websites; census records, obituaries and death notices. Access to Military Archives allowed the identification of those, such as security personnel, whose identity would have been a closely guarded secret in 1921