On Monday 6 December 2021 the National Archives’ landmark centenary exhibition on the Anglo-Irish Treaty, The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives, was opened by Taoiseach Michael Martin TD, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar TD, and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin TD.
The exhibition is presented by the National Archives in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy, the Office of Public Works and the National Library of Ireland. The National Archives are marking the centenary of the signing of the Treaty by presenting a major exhibition of records in its possession relating to the negotiation of the Treaty and its signature. With the Treaty as the centrepiece, the exhibition places significant documents from the collections of the National Archives on public display for the first time, with records also on display from the collections of the Military Archives, Dublin, and UCD Archives. The RIA’s Documents on Irish Foreign Policy (DIFP) project has played a central role as a partner in the exhibition, developing the exhibition text and co-curating the structure and content for the exhibition with the National Archives.
Read this short guide to the Treaty negotiations by John Gibney (Assistant Editor, DIFP), from RTÉ’s Century Ireland project, and listen to this podcast on the exhibition featuring John Gibney and Zoë Reid (Senior Conservator, National Archives), recorded for Westmeath County Council. The Treaty itself was the subject of a bonus episode of RTE’s Brexit Republic podcast, with John Gibney in conversation with Colm Ó Mongain, and the exhibition also featured on a special edition of RTÉ’s The History Show, dedicated to the Treaty and its consequences. Many of the documents relating to the Treaty negotiations were published in the first volume of the DIFP series, published in 1998 and are available online here.
The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives is open to the public from 7 December 2021 and runs until 27 March 2022 at the Coach House Gallery, Dublin Castle Gardens, Dame Street, Dublin 2, D02 X822. Opening hours: 10am – 5pm, daily. Admission free but booking essential.
