Irish delegates travel to Downing Street to meet with Prime Minister
London, 13 July 1921 – A delegation of Sinn Féin representatives departed for London yesterday where they are due to meet the British Prime Minister tomorrow.
The first meeting will take place at Downing Street and it is understood that Mr Lloyd George will act as chairman, but will be free to delegate these duties to South African Prime Minister, General Jan Smuts, should this be required.
The republican delegates are led by Éamon de Valera, who is accompanied by Arthur Griffith, Austin Stack and Robert Barton. Also travelling with this group is the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Lawrence O’Neill, Count Plunkett and Erskine Childers.
The Press Association is reporting that the British administration in Ireland has ‘strong hopes’ that the conference will lead to the parties engaging ‘in a determined effort in a spirit of good will to bring about a lasting peace in Ireland.’ Mr de Valera and his colleagues are being received as private individuals and as ‘trusted representatives of a very important party in Ireland. Any further official recognition would be out of place, and, no doubt, very unwelcome to the visitors.’
In an editorial published today, the Irish Times has warned the Irish public that they should not ‘allow their joy in the truce from bloodshed to make them unduly confident about the prospects of political settlement.’ The paper stressed that peace could only come through compromise and this might prove particularly difficult for Mr de Valera.
‘The British government and people require Mr de Valera to surrender the demand for an independent republic in return for an assured and honourable status within the empire. They require him to accept and respect the fait accompli of the northern parliament’.
Arthur Griffith departing Ireland for London (Image: National Library of Ireland, INDH382)
The Sinn Féin party travelled to England on the 9am Royal Mail steamer, Curraghmore. As they departed, there were cheers from the pier, and hats and handkerchiefs were waved in the air.
A huge crowd awaited them in Holyhead where photographs were taken by the press. They were escorted from the boat to the train by the piermaster, who, it turned out, had witnessed the arrival of Mr de Valera as he was being taken to Dartmoor Prison in the wake of the 1916 Easter Rising. He also saw Mr Griffith and others as they were being taken to Wandsworth Prison. On the train they were accommodated in a first class saloon carriage.
It was 6pm before the train reached Euston Station in London where about 5,000 people waited to greet the delegates on the platform – policemen had to protect the Sinn Féiners from being pulled from the carriage and hoisted on the shoulders of supporters. The vast crowd was mostly Irish, but included a number of English sympathisers. As the train approached the station, a giant Sinn Féin flag was unfurled and later cheers of ‘Up the Republic’ and ‘Up Sinn Féin’ rang out.
Given the scenes at Euston, it was 7pm before the delegates reached their destination at Grosvenor Hotel, where they had a suite of rooms reserved. On arrival they were greeted again by a large crowd. While Mr de Valera refused to be interviewed he did let it be known that tomorrow’s meeting was not a peace conference, but a preliminary meeting to discuss the basis of the negotiations that will follow.
Group photo taken at the Grosvenor Hotel, London, of the Irish Peace Delegation shortly after their arrival. Standing, back row, left to right: Count Plunkett; Erskine Childers; Lawrence O'Neill, Lord Mayor of Dublin; Dr Robert Farnam; and Robert Barton. Middle row, left to right: Lily O'Brennan; Lora Farnam; and Kathleen O'Connell. Sitting, left to right: Éamon de Valera and Arthur Griffith. (Image: National Library of Ireland, NPA-RPH10)
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
