John M. Regan, The Politics of Reaction; The Dynamics of Treatyite Government and Policy (1922-1933

Résumé du document

W.T. Cosgrave led the first independent government which won the Civil War. Nevertheless, its party, the Cumman na nGaedheal (later named Fine Gael, in 1933) never managed to secure popular support, and was on the decline until 1944 and the retirement of Cosgrave.

The Treaty needed the vote of at least a part of the nationalists to be adopted by the Dail. Michael Collins, thanks to his prestige due to his role in the IRB and the IRA, managed to create a division in their ranks. Griffith and Collins advocated a passage from an ideal nationalism to a pragmatic realpolitik. It would still be possible to push further the freedom given by this treaty, thanks to what was granted in it.

The treaty was only a "stepping stone". Collins also managed to move the debate from politico-philosophical considerations to the field of material consequences of a reject: war with Britain. "Rejection of the treaty means your national policy is war". He carefully prepared this move; almost all the IRA generals declared that the IRA could not stand a new war. The vote was close: 64 against 57. Most of the credit must be given to Collins in securing support for the Treaty. The idea of the stepping stone managed to rally many republicans, such as Batt O'Connor who wrote "We can get the Republic when we are strong enough and England weak enough".

Extraits

[...] The remaining nationalist part of the Cumman na nGaedheal also challenged the government. They produced a document which accused the government to fail in implementing pro-Irish policies. There was a general disenchantment against the Cumman na nGaedheal and his failure to outline a detailed policy program. It was an ultimate attempt to put the revolutionary agenda ahead of the consolidation of the Free State. The treatyite elite actually managed to consolidate the Free State. It tried to create an apolitical state machine, and thus took over 20415 civil servants if the Crown in Ireland in 1922. [...]

[...] Regan, The Politics of Reaction; The Dynamics of Treatyite Government and Policy (1922-1933) W.T. Cosgrave led the first independent government which won the Civil War. Nevertheless, its party, the Cumman na nGaedheal (later named Fine Gael, in 1933) never managed to secure popular support, and was on the decline until 1944 and the retirement of Cosgrave. Although it went much further than all the previous British propositions, the Treaty deceived the revolutionary Sinn Fein, for several reasons: - Imperfect military evacuation, the British keeping some harbor in Ireland - The presence of symbols of the supremacy of the Crown (oath+governor general) and the right to Northern Ireland to secede from the Free State, making the partition a fait accompli The Treaty needed the vote of at least a part of the nationalists to be adopted by the Dail. [...]

[...] They were thus the legitimate government of Ireland on the behalf of democratic rule. They fought the war on this ground, rather than on the acceptance of the treaty. There was thus a consensus amongst the treatyite around the necessity to defend the foundations of the State. This prevented power struggles, despite ideological differences. Civil War of the 28th June 1922 subordinated the question of the long-term development of the treaty to the day-to-day survival of the emerging Free State” The Civil War modified positions within the treatyite party and government. [...]

[...] Therefore, McGrath's demand that some civil servants were replaced by men who served in the IRA could (and was) be dismissed as job-seeking. The secessions of 1924 therefore rid the treatyite elite of the most disruptive part of the radical republican nationalists. Cosgrave justified the refusal to outline a clear policy program that the priority was the consolidation of the State. The Cumman na nGaedheal saw itself as the only alternative to anarchy, which demonstrated its self-righteousness. They believed that their moral ideals were enough to rule the State. [...]

[...] Griffith and Collins were elected at the head of the Dail and of the government, but both died in 1922. Cosgrave, their successor, unified the Dail ministry and the provisional government to constitute the first National Government. The treatyite elite constituted by Collins and Griffith was conserved in the government by Cosgrave, and shaped the politics of the Free State for a long time: of the eleven Cosgrave's minister were still in government in 1932. There were nevertheless some ideological divisions within the rising treatyite party. [...]