I Signed My Death Warrant

To Michael Collins the signing of the Treaty between Ireland and Britain in 1921 was a 'stepping stone'. Eamon de Valera called it 'treason'. The controversy surrounding the Treaty which led to the Civil War of 1922-1923 is examined in this compelling study of the controversy surrounding the infamous negotiations. ‘Think – what have I got for Ireland?’ Michael Collins wrote just hours after signing the Treaty. ‘Something which she has wanted these past seven hundred years. Will anyone be satisfied at the bargain? Will anyone? I tell you this early this morning I signed my death warrant. I thought at the time how odd, how ridiculous – a bullet may just as well have done the job five years ago.’ To Michael Collins the signing of the Treaty between Ireland and Britain in 1921 was a ‘stepping stone’. What mattered to Collins was that Ireland be given a chance for independence, a chance for Irish people to govern their own affairs under their own flag. Eamon de Valera called the Treaty ‘treason’, and subsequently led his followers out of the Dáil in protest – an act that precipitated the Civil War. I Signed My Death Warrant is a compelling study of the controversy surrounding the Treaty. Examining the characters and motivations of the two main Irish protagonists, de Valera and Collins, T. Ryle Dwyer also gives new insights into the views and ideas of the other people involved in the infamous Treaty negotiations – on both sides of the Irish sea. To Michael Collins the signing of the Treaty between Ireland and Britain in 1921 was a 'stepping stone'.Eamon de Valera called it 'treason'.The controversy surrounding the Treaty and how it led to the Civil War of 1922-1923, is examined here. T. Ryle Dwyer not only takes an in-depth look at the characters and motivations of the two main Irish protaginaists but also gives many insights into the views and ideas of the other people involved on both sides if the Irish sea. Eamon de Valera sent Michael Collins to London in October 1921 to negotiate a treaty with the British Empire. The difficult negotiations took eight weeks before the Treaty was signed by Collins, Arthur Griffith and the other delegates in December 1921.To Collins, the Treaty was simply the start of a process that, in his eyes, would lead to full independence for what was now the Irish Free State, but there were many in the south who believed that Collins had betrayed the republican movement.Just hours after signing the Treaty Collins' wrote 'Will anyone be satisfied at the bargain? Will anyone? I tell you this early morning I signed my death warrant…' Eighty-five years on from the historic signing of the Treaty, I Signed My Death Warrant is a compelling study of the controversy surrounding the infamous negotiations and the motivations of the two main Irish protagonists, de Valera and Collins.