Praise for The Men and Women of the Irish Treaty Delegation 1921

‘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.’
British Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Paul Johnston

‘A well-researched, engaging and inclusive collection.’
Minister for Defence, Mr Simon Coveney T.D.

‘A fascinating and original study of the Treaty and the members of the delegation’
Dr Deirdre McMahon

‘This volume is a welcome appreciation of those behind the scenes who did much to help the Treaty negotiators and a reflection of the complexities involved.’
Professor Colum Kenny

(from Left to right) Emeritus Professor Trinity College Dublin and joint editor Eda Sagarra, AFEPI indexer Julitta Clancy, joint editor Fiona Murray and Dingle Publishing’s Siobhán Prendergast.

This commemorative edition of the book will be gifted to libraries and universities in Ireland as well as to Dáil Éireann, Dublin and the House of Commons in Westminister, London.

The Irish Times article by Ronan McGreevy

Joint editor, Eda Sagarra, a granddaughter of Irish delegation member T.A. Smiddy, described the book in an The Irish Times article by Ronan McGreevy, as:

‘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: through 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.’

Remembering men and women of the Treaty.

‘Most of the 70 Irish people who set out to win the peace 100 years ago (2022) — including key administrators such as Kathleen McKenna — have been forgotten. But now their descendants are setting out to tell their extraordinary stories.’

Read more in the Irish Examiner about this extraordinary book and the stories of The Men and Women of the Anglo-Irish Treaty Delegations 1921 and how important this book is to the recording of an almost lost history of the ‘men and women who formed the Irish delegation sent by Dáil Éireann to negotiate peace in London in 1921, and, in the spirit of ethical remembrance, to do so in an inclusive, apolitical, and person-centred way.’

‘There were five plenipotentiaries, four secretaries, 28 advisers, secretarial assistants, and staff, 13 security and/or bodyguards, seven dispatchers, two chaperones, and 12 key members of the household staffs working between 22 Hans Place and 15 Cadogan Gardens.

‘Apart from plenipotentiaries — Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins, Robert Barton, Eamon Duggan, and George Gavan Duffy — and delegation secretary, Erskine Childers, most of these remarkable men and women are virtually unknown to the Irish public.

‘Their stories have never been told, although a small number have had biographies or memoirs published. We are particularly indebted to Kathleen McKenna, secretary to the delegation, whose memoir, A Dáil Girl’s Revolutionary Recollections, provides insightful observations, especially during the challenging two-month period of the Treaty negotiations.’

Carol Fawsitt