On This Day / September 8, 1921
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
September 8, 2021
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 8th September 1921, British ministers gathered in Inverness for a crucial Cabinet meeting as the peace negotiations with Éamon de Valera appeared under serious threat. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Peace Under Threat at Inverness | On This Day – 8th September 1921
MR LLOYD George, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland [Lord Fitzalan], the chief secretary [Sir Hamar Greenwood] and Mr Winston Churchill [Chancellor of the Exchequer] have arrived in Inverness.
A whole batch of Cabinet Ministers will reach the Scottish town early this morning and the stage is set for what may well prove to be one of the most momentous Cabinet meetings in the history of the British Empire – a meeting which may cast the dye which shall determine the issue of continued peace or a renewal of war in Ireland.
The situation is grave and none realise its gravity more than the Ministers themselves. But, even now, ‘irrevocable’ is a bad word to use.
The open door may be kept ajar but the prospects are not rosy. Government circles say that several at least of the Ministers take the view that a point has been reached at which essay-writing, which leads to no practical results, can be no longer tolerated and their attitude can be summarised in this way:
‘We have endeavoured to meet Ireland in a conciliatory and reasonable spirit and we regard our offer [of Dominion status for 26 counties with partition] as the limit of possible concession.
There must be an end to so-called negotiations which lead to nothing beyond the dictation of terms which neither this nor any other British government can possibly accede to.
In an interview yesterday, Mr de Valera [President of Dail Eireann] said: ‘It seems that it is a grievous political sin these days to keep one’s eyes open…
British imperial salesmen, trying to sell Ireland a second-rate political margarine, are very angry because we do not accept the “butter” label they have put on… The English press ask, “Have we the will to peace?”
Yes, we have and an ardent desire… If England is issuing an ultimatum, let it be an ultimatum. Brute force, naked and unabashed, has been used against small nations before.’
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: Already on August 2 1921 as the truce continued, the D&l Cabinet had rejected Lloyd George’s proposals.
In his reply to Lloyd George, de Valera described the British offer as ‘illusory’ in view of the geographical proximity of Britain, restrictions on Irish trade and defence and the eternal fact that Sinn Féin could not ‘admit the right of the British government to mutilate our country’.
In the end the British decided to send the Republican government a fresh invitation to a conference in October without preconditions. This the Irish side felt able to accept.)
On This Day – 8th September 1921
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
On This Day is a daily column in the Irish News looking back either 50 or 100 years. The column was compiled by Dr Éamon Phoenix from the mid 1980s until autumn, 2022. The Foundation is very grateful to the Irish News for giving permission to reproduce Eamon’s columns. Funding gratefully received from Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and the Magill Trust.
* The Foundation has worked hard to recreate Eamon’s distinctive voice through AI. Since this is an emerging technology, occasional imperfections may be audible.