Civil War not caused by Anglo-Irish treaty

REGARDING the July 28 letter by Cllr Kieran McCarthy, I wish to state the following: The Sinn Fein mandate of December 1918 was not necessarily for a republic; rather that by inevitable negotiation Dáil Eireann would achieve as much independence as it possibly could; whatever form that might take.

The declaration of a republic was itself loosely aspirational and not written in stone. Indeed, the more intelligent of the Sinn Fein leadership believed it to be quite unrealistic and unacceptable for the whole island. If the “strait-jacket” of the republic had to be sacrificed for all Ireland peace and unity, so be it; and this de Valera himself accepted.

Michael Collins, in particular, quickly learned that the dual monarchy model could evolve into an independent republic within the Commonwealth (as India did some 25 years later). The Civil War was not caused by the Anglo-Irish Treaty, rather by a fanatical minority who decreed that “the people have no right to be wrong”.