Previous associations with Germany before had put many Irish-Americans nationalists under suspicion, and they worked to emphasize Irish nationalism. He had two daughters, one of whom, Brigit, later married my grandfather, James H. I never knew my grandfather; he died when my father was a young man.
My grandmother told us that he had been beaten by scabs during a strike at the brewery where he worked. Cover for the musical score When Ireland takes her place among the nations of the earth. Henry, Harry. Now, the people who do not want to see this Treaty carried out—and that is really the essence of the position of the other side—the people who do not want to see this Treaty carried out desire to have the resources of the Republic.
And the army and the finances of the Republic. That is what they want given them—that and you can blaze away. I have never heard in my life a constitutional proposition of that kind being put up in any assembly by the minority. It may be a new axiom. And I submit that the resolution for the re-election of the President is out of order, having regard to the fact that the majority party in every assembly in the world moves the motion. I do not know whether that is objected to or not.
The new apostles of the new system of government may object to it. There was one other matter that I would like to refer to. Those who have taken on themselves the right to speak and censure the utterances of others have interpreted it that under the Treaty we become British subjects. I deny that, and I say positively that they knew they were not speaking the truth when they made that statement.
I was reading last evening an American paper, the Boston Post , sent me by a friend a few days ago, and that paper stated that under the Treaty the Irish people are Irish citizens and not British subjects. Of course some people would not agree to that. I can tell you that it would take a lot to prove a thing to you that you do not want to understand or do not want to see.
I did not interrupt you. It is not a thing that can be proved, as I said before, to a man who will not see the proof. It happens that some delegates or Deputies are more bellicose than others, and that consequently some Deputies when speaking are subject to interruption.
I did not interrupt the Minister for War laughter. I submit that the motion for the re-election of the President is unconstitutional, and that it is out of order. That motion can only come from the majority party. I submit that the decision which has been taken here on Saturday cannot be rescinded on Monday. I submit that the President himself sees the position and appreciates it, and his own statement that he did not desire to set up a minority to run the country is evidence of the fact that he appreciates it.
And I submit to you, sir, that the resolution is out of order, and that the only motion that can be in order is one moved from the other side—the majority party—to set up a joint Committee in order to carry into effect the resolution adoted by this Assembly on Saturday in accordance with every known axiom of constitutional law.
That motion suggested by the Minister of Finance and supported by the Minister of Foreign Affairs is the only one. Is that stopped? Because if so I must stop work. I will send over to tell them besides, that no further letters are to go out to the country. What then is the position to be? Is my department dissolved?
Well, then, I suppose I must send to my office to stop further communications going out. If the President is re-elected, and if the Ministers he puts up are defeated, where are we landing ourselves? We were warned by the Deputy from Monaghan that we will be in a bog.
I think the only member of the Assembly who is in a bog is himself. Now, I put that position to you, sir, because you have a very responsible position as Speaker of this House. The Government of the country must go on. Nothing can change the vote that was taken here on Saturday last cries of "No!
There is a constitutional way of dealing with them. Are you afraid of the people? Cries of "No! I am glad to hear that. I know them, and they are not afraid; and I know it is not the fear but the sense of the people that made them favour the Treaty. There was never as much fight in the people as when the terror was highest. The people of this country are not going to be coerced into accepting an instrument of this kind applause.
You were in the Chair a long time and you know what the order is. I am sorry I have been interrupted so often. I am interested in doing things in a proper way, and I am interested in this assembly as the first assembly of the nation. The one fact remains that we have the destinies of the country in our hands, and that we are responsible for restoring normal conditions.
The enemy are now willing and anxious to clear out, and I believe they are making preparations to clear out. Are there to be no facilities on our side to get them out and to restore normal conditions? Is that an honest state of affairs? Are we to get away from the page of party politics and the page of party suspicion and party speeches and realise that this nation did not elect us to go on with this nonsense?
And if the Government of the country is to be maintained it could only be done by establishing majority rule; and I believe the majority here would willingly get out tomorrow if you can get better men, and if those who are interested in the Republican form of Government—and I am not —I don't care what form it is so long as it is free, independent, authoritative, and the sovereign Government of the people, and that it will be respected.
If they wish to put up this Republican programme of theirs I warn them that they are not taking the best methods. And those people to whom I have been speaking outside about the proceedings here are not impressed by the attitude nor by the bitterness of those opposed to the Treaty. It is not by bitterness that we succeed. Upon our shoulders rests more responsibility than any body of Irishmen ever had to bear.
The world is looking at us now, having approved of this Treaty, and it is expecting some results from it. It is expecting ordered government from it and if you cannot have ordered government if you re-establish and reconstruct the government of the minority.
Therefore I submit to you that it is not in order to receive the motion. We have listened to the most extraordinary constitutional procedure that was ever listened to. I will state the case in a few words. They carried these negotiations up to a certain point. But Lloyd George chose to say that they were finished when he negotiated the Treaty. We know that they are not.
We have reached a stage in the negotiations. Now, it seems the best way to continue the negotiations is through the Republican Government. The British Government is out to smash the Republican Government. This assembly here carried on for a very long time—as far as my recollection goes—without having a President of the Irish Republic. We carried on to that date without a President.
The suggestion is being made here that we cannot carry on the work properly without a President. Now, I could say that I feel that the future is with those people who are supporting the Treaty, or that the future is with those people who are opposing the Treaty, that is, the future is with ideas which demand its opposition, its rejection. But I would not be helping our work here.
The job for the day, in my opinion, when we supported here the approval of the Treaty—our job was that we should lay our hands on those resources that were put within our reach under the Treaty, and that we should utilise those resources to strengthen the position and build up the Irish nation.
The vote on Saturday evening confirms me in that opinion, and gives me costitutional authority for going ahead to the absolute best of my ability in getting Irish hands on these resources.
Now, this Assembly, it has been stated, is the Government of the Irish Republic. It is the Government of the Irish people. And I agree with the statement that it remains that Government until the Irish people have set up another Government. Now, in the opinion of the majority of this Assembly, and in the opinion of the majority party which forms the Government of Ireland, our immediate job is to lay hands on those resources which are put within our reach by the Treaty.
And I believe we would be false to our realisation of what the next job to be done by us for the benefit of the Irish people is if we did not use our whole weight and the whole resources and the whole constitutional position of this body for the carrying out of that end, and it is for that reason—however much I regret it—that I am opposing the proposition that President de Valera should be re-appointed President of the Irish Republic and President of this Assembly.
It is for that reason that I must oppose such a proposition because we would be taking from the majority of this House, which realises it has to do a certain work, a considerable portion of the resources, if not all the resources that should be at its disposal for the carrying out of that work and placing them in the hands of other people who, no matter how they feel disposed to us, and no, matter how they feel that we do not run on parallel lines ultimately—by taking the line that we take to-day we may not converge upon that point upon which, in our hearts we all desire to converge.
No matter how they feel with regard to us, or how we feel with regard to them, we would be putting ourselves in the position of hand ing over these resources to people who at the present moment, from their own point of view cannot co-operate with us in helping us to do the job which lies immediately at our hands, and which we are determined to do, just as in those days gone by we tackled one by one the different jobs that came in front of us.
I think when the public read in the Press this discussion and understand its full bearing the feeling of the public will be one of sheer exasperation. We spent a number of, weeks in Public and Private Session discussing a grave national issue. And we decided it last Saturday night after exploring every vestige of that Treaty, and after the public mind of the country had pronounced, as far as it was possible for the country to make itself articulate.
Now, this morning we are confronted with a proposal, a motion, a situation which has, I think, no other object and can have, if carried, no other consequence than to reverse or nullify the decision of last Saturday. The President has emphasised the fact, from his point of view, that he is trying to end what appears to be an impasse by strict adherence to constitutional methods. I submit that he is not quite accurate or exact in his conception of what constitutional methods should be in this matter.
The constitutional method for a party who is defeated in an assembly like this is to resign their power and let the majority take control hear, hear. I notice there is great jubilation amongst the supporters of this motion, and I take it that they strongly dissent from this statement of the President that there can be no question of a Cabinet being selected from the majority of the House.
Now, I suppose I am guilty of as many interruptions as anybody else, and I need not grumble. But when I was coming in during the course of this discussion I heard the Deputy from Monaghan speaking about a shaky ground. I do not know whether it was the shaky ground of his in Monaghan or the shaky ground of the President in this position that he was referring to. But it certainly is a most precarious position to stand in. President de Valera and those who stood with him were defeated on last Saturday night in this House.
I submit that the constitutional procedure is that those Ministers who were defeated should hand in their resignations. Now, I know what the move is. The President says that he does not wish to go forward. If President de Valera will stand down on this question he will show you the majority. Do not let us confuse the issue that is before the Assembly with a personality— the great and honoured personality of President de Valera.
Let us know where we stand. Are you who are opposing the Treaty that was approved of on Saturday night, are you trying to play the personality of President de Valera as a trump card to try and kill the Treaty?
I listened to President de Valera here one evening at the Private Session. And I suppose it is not proper to make anything like detailed allusions to what occurs in Private Session, but I gathered from him on one occasion— when asked what would be his policy in the eventuality of the Treaty being rejected, and in the eventuality of its being approved.
The President made a lengthy and, I thought, a carefully calculated speech suggesting what would be the outcome of all these eventualities. And, so far as my recollection serves me, President de Valera stated then that he would regard the will of the majority in this House as the sovereign and binding authority in this House. The majority spoke last Saturday night. On the Treaty. Are you going to honour the decision of the majority or are you going to make us, not merely a laughing stock, but something that is beneath contempt in the civilised world, by giving a decision one night and two days after reversing that decision?
Very well, do not be playing the personality of President de Valera against the real sense of this House. I find it hard to speak with patience about this matter. We regarded the decision on Saturday night last—at least, I regarded it—as terminating a long and serious controversy. We regarded it as coming to the end of one stage, and that when that stage was reached we would begin subsequently to carry out what was the effect of that decision.
If this motion is persisted in, if the policy connected with the Government is persisted in, it means that you are deliberately and with malice aforethought endeavouring to nullify the decision come to last Saturday night, endeavouring to reverse the decision of the House and to nullify the efforts made to bring some kind of independent staple goverment to Ireland. Now I would ask you who voted for the Treaty on last Saturday night to realise what you are faced with. Those who voted against it, of course, have not the responsibility that those who voted for it have.
But every Deputy here who voted for that Treaty last Saturday night is as much bound to honour his vote as the plenipotentiaries were to honour their signatures. And I tell you, the man who votes to-day for the motion which will have the effect of destroying the motion voted for on last Saturday night—that Deputy will be as guilty of——.
I will be responsible for my own crimes. I will not ask any Deputy here to take responsibility for them. And I say that every person here who voted for the Treaty last Saturday night and who votes for the motion to destroy the Treaty or to nullify its effects to-day is as much guilty of cowardice—I will say moral cowardice—it is, perhaps, a less reprehensible word than the Minister for Home Affairs selected for me—he will be as guilty of moral cowardice as the plenipotentiary who signed in London and will come back and vote against the Treaty here.
This is no time for playing party politics or trying to score laughter. I cannot understand the laughter that comes to the face of the Holy Roman Deputy from Tipperary. It may be a laughing matter to him if this Treaty is destroyed. But I tell you it will not be a laughing matter to Ireland, and there will be no smile on his face when Ireland calls him to account.
This is a serious, a grave matter. And I ask every man who voted for the Treaty last Saturday night to remember, to realise, that the motion to-day to secure minority rule in this House is a motion intended to kill the Treaty, and to throw us back to the wrangling we were in before we came to the decision on last Saturday night applause.
I want to get back to common sense and plain facts. The President offered to resign. He resigned on Saturday. It was at the suggestion—or almost request—of the opposition he withdrew his resignation until this morning, and I strongly resent then that he should be accused of any political trick. Surely when the President's policy is defeated the obvious course is for the President to resign.
Now, we want order and peace in the country. We do not wish to see disruption and disagreement which may lead to very serious results up and down the land. We listened to Mr. Collins' suggestion of a joint committee that from the President's point of view and from my point of view is an impossibility, because we disagree on fundamentals, that is, on the Treaty. As a person who stands for the Republic I cannot consider anything less, nor will I work with anyone who considers the case of Ireland from a lower standard than my own.
Now, the President's name was put forward for re-election. Now, I ask, what do the opposition mean? Why do they not put up a man of their own a President—which I would consider the honourable way out of this? And, of course, the opposition are pre-supposing that this House is definitely divided.
One of our party proposed President de Valera as President of this assembly. And I conclude Deputy Mrs. Clarke proposed that because, when the President resigned, the opposition did not, in their turn, propose a President.
They, apparently, did not stand for the Republic. We then, as Republicans—or a member of our party—proposed our much loved and much respected President, the man who carried out the great fight in Boland's Mill with a gun in his own hands, as a Commander, in Easter Week; the man who fought elections, the man who went to jail, the man whom we have all known as the straightest, truest and most honourable man we ever had anything to do with.
Even his opponents will admit there could never have been a criticism of the President's bravery, courage or honour. We proposed the President and they are refusing to elect the President. They are trying to overthrow the Republic.
This is what I would put to them : we established our Republic; they have this Treaty. This Treaty has been passed by the House. They have a clear road in front of them. They go over—they take up the negotiations, they form a Constitution and then go on. But I say why should our side be supposed to end our opposition to the destruction of the Republic?
Now, the members of the opposition here blame the President because, when he was put forward as President to be elected, he simply and frankly and honestly stated that, as President, he would continue his work as President of the Irish Republic—a protector and fighter for the Irish Republic. That was an honourable line, and a thing for which I respect and value him.
We know to-day that England is in the tightest corner she was ever in. We know there is a paper wall around India and Egypt as big as there had ever been around Ireland before Easter Week. We do not know what straits England is in. We don't know what may happen in the coming year while the Provisional Government which Mr.
Griffith and Mr. Collins are going to set up is functioning, and I say now it is necessary that the Republican interest should be held and the situation watched.
And I say now : let this vote be a straight one. The Republic exists to-day. Let the President be elected and let him stand by his ideals and the world will know the man he is. I would say that those who stand for the ultimate Republic in Ireland, who believe in the Republic, and who work for the Republic, must support the President.
What matters is that the Republic is not allowed to be overthrown to-day by any side-tracking, personal allusions—petty and mean—against brave and honourable men, and also by juggling and tricks.
Again I repeat—it is very simple the outlook to-day—the state and condition at the moment is this: the President has resigned because he considers it his duty. The members of our party who wish for the re-affirmation of the Republic are supporting him. Let those who wish to overthrow the Republic vote that there ought be no President from this day in Ireland; and let them realise that they are using the little bit of authority, the one little piece, to pull down what Ireland has gained by centuries of fighting, of misery and of suffering.
And that is the position to-day. Is not this the present position before us? The English are willing to evacuate the country at the moment that we set up the Provisional Government. Their forces are ready to leave as soon as the Provisional Government is set up.
All their Departments of Government to the number of fifty-six are to be handed over to the representatives of the Irish people. And the only way in which we can give these facilities at the present moment is by setting up a Provisional Government here.
Those who are opposed to the setting up of the Provisional Government in this country are, as I said and as I consider it now, in favour of retaining, not alone the British Army and the armed forces in this country, but the thing which is an abomination in Ireland—Dublin Castle Government.
That, I maintain, is the position, and we ought all to take the same view. There is a way out, and a very clear way out. The members who were elected to the Republican Parliament know that the Republican Parliament will exist until the General Election will remove it.
That has nothing to do with this point. And by Article 17 of the Treaty we see: "By way of provisional arrangement for the administration of Southern Ireland during the interval which must elapse between the date hereof and the constitution of a Parliament and a Government of the Irish Free State in accordance therewith, steps shall be taken forthwith for summoning a meeting of members of Parliament elected for constituencies in Southern Ireland since the passing of the Government of Ireland Act, , and for constituting a Provisional Government, and the British Government shall take the steps necessary to transfer to such Provisional Government the powers and the machinery requisite for the discharge of its duties, provided that every member of such Provisional Government shall have signified in writing his or her acceptance of this instrument.
But this arrangement shall not continue in force beyond the expiration of twelve months from the date hereof. This is not a Parliament of Southern Ireland. Now, our Government must go on—the Republican Government must go on.
There is no reason why the members elected to the Southern Parliament should not, if they wish, form a Provisional Government as this instrument says, and proceed to take over. There is no reason why that should not be done and end our discussion and end the flight of oratory.
Mulcahy seemed to suggest that instantly we should enjoy the advantages given in the Treaty. Evidently that is not so. There has to be negotiations, conferences, and ratification of this Treaty in connection with England, and it is now what you mean to consider what views Ireland is to put before the world, and how she is to show herself an existing entity. Something should be done to show that we have not given up our separate existence, nor what we wish to get, an independent country.
Therefore it seems to me a sort of misunderstanding to think that you can instantly now go and take the advantages of this Treaty. This has all to be settled. I feel bound to contradict and resent one thing that I may safely describe as deliberate misrepresentation. I have listened to one of my colleagues from Cork seek to make a case. He said that those who maintain here to-day a particular line of action—that some members of this House desire to retain in Ireland the British Government and the British Army and British Departments.
Now, I am satisfied that neither of us here nor any member of this House can believe that that is true. Consequently, I may safely call this deliberate misrepresentation. I hope this is not going to develop into a series of speeches. The central fact is that there must be a Government until such time as a certain form of negotiations has taken place. There must be a Government. It is also clear from certain statements that that Government must come from one side or the other.
Now, the House is here and I think the House should decide now. I am one of those who utterly dislike making any personal explanations. I rather agree with the motto "never explain. I hope this will not descend into politics. My good friend, the Deputy for Tyrone, referred to me. He used to consider himself a Party politician.
What we want to do is to salve as much as we can out of the wreckage, and to do it for Ireland. He said I would be afraid to go before the Irish people. I am not. But I did hope that when the Chairman of the Delegation was concluding his speech the other night that he would have answered one of the Deputies from Mayo, Doctor Ferran, who asked him some very pertinent questions regarding this Treaty and its future. He did not deal with that nor with other things.
But I hope he will now. He seems to know more about it. He had some correspondence from the Prime Minister of England, and he will know about its future. To the election of President de Valera, and I want to answer, as far as I can, some statements made here that have really nothing to do with that laughter.
I appreciate that. I do say the position of Deputies in this House who are afraid to face the issue of electing the President for the Irish.
Republic in the Parliament of the Irish Republic—they are afraid to face that issue straight and so they side-track They would not put up a candidate of their own. De Valera was arrested on 15 August , under the Public Safety Act, as he was about to make a speech at Ennis and was imprisoned until July Despite this, Clare elected de Valera top of the poll in the general election on 27 August De Valera continued to represent Clare for the rest of his active political career.
As part of the Anglo-Irish Treaty which ended the War of Independence all members of the Oireachtas were obliged to take an oath of allegiance swear loyalty to the King of Great Britain. Towards the end of , de Valera and the I. De Valera had made remarks which suggested that if the oath were removed, he would sit in Dail Eireann. In March , he resigned as President of Sinn Fein over this issue and decided to launch a new party. The aims of the party were:. In the general election of June , his party won 44 seats and Cumann na nGaedhael won 47 seats which was a large drop for them.
When de Valera and his fellow Fianna Fail deputies arrived at Leinster House, they were refused permission to take their seats unless they first took the oath. They then retired and Cumann na nGaedhael formed the government. Fianna Fail, however, continued to campaign for the removal of the Oath.
In order to spread their ideas, the Fianna Fail party founded a daily newspaper, the Irish Press, in September In office, the party finally removed the oath by legislation in On 2 September in Dail Eireann, de Valera declared that the 26 counties would remain neutral. This policy was generally accepted.
Many people, while disliking the Nazi regime in Germany, still distrusted Britain and resented the partition of Ireland. Each person was given a special ration-book due to the shortages of everyday items. The post-war years brought continued economic problems with rising prices, emigration and growing unemployment. His refusal to continue payment of land-purchase annuities to Britain led to an economic war between the two countries, which enabled him to pursue plans to make Ireland more self-sufficient economically.
His government also extended social services, suppressed extremist threats to the state, and introduced a constitution in which made the Free State a republic in all but name. In agreements made with Britain ended the economic war and British occupation of Irish naval bases retained under the treaty.
De Valera was unable, however, to end the partition of Ireland. De Valera had been a strong supporter of collective security through the League of Nations, but he maintained a policy of neutrality, with overwhelming popular support, throughout World War II.
In the postwar period Fianna Fail alternated in power with two interparty governments, the first of which formally established the Irish Republic in Returned to office with a decisive majority in , De Valera retired from active politics in , when he was elected president of the republic.
He was reelected in , the fiftieth anniversary of his entry into Irish political life. Failing eyesight troubled him from the s onward and left him almost blind before his retirement from active politics in
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