71
800Years IrishPolitical, Literary&MilitaryHistory - 15thApril2014
182 [DEVALERA, Eamon]
A Proclamation to the People of Ireland. Broadside, single sheet, 33 x 20cm, printed one side only. DatedDublin,
October 10th, 1921.On laid andwatermarkedpaper. Important andvery rare.
This is adocument of historic significance andprophetic quality, dated the daybefore theTreaty talkswere toopen
in London. It appeals for calm and unity during the talks, andwarns against ‘foolish hopes’ of an easy settlement.
Addressed to ‘FellowCitizens’, the document begins by stressing the non-negotiable nature of the Irish claim tona-
tionhood. “Theonlypeace that, in the verynatureof things, can end this strugglewill be apeace consistentwith the
Nation’s right andguaranteeinga freedomworthyof the sufferings endured to secure it. Suchapeacewill notbeeasy
to obtain. The claim that conflicts with Ireland’s right has been ruthlessly persisted in through centuries of blood.
It seems unlikely that this claimwill be abandonednow. By anheroic enduranceof suffering, Irelandhas gained the
position she holds.Were the prospect of further horrors or further sacrifices to cause her toquail or falter for amo-
ment, allwouldagainbe lost.The threats that could force surrender inonevital particularwouldbe reliedon to force
surrender in another and another till allwere gone. Thepower against uswill use every artifice it knows in thehope
of dispiriting, dividing, weakeningus.Wemust all beware. The unity that is essential will best bemaintainedby an
unwavering faith in thosewhohavebeendeputed toact in theNation’s behalf, anda confidencemanifesting itself as
hitherto in eloquent discipline. For this I appeal”. (Signed)EAMONDEVALERA.
This document forms part of a carefully co-ordinated strategybyDeValera and theDail Cabinet.On7October the
Irish plenipotentiaries, Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins, Robert Barton, Eamon Duggan and Gavan Duffy, were
given their credentials and instructions; on8October they sailed forEngland; on10October this Proclamationwas
issued to the people of Ireland (‘FellowCitizens’) and, at the same time, ErskineChilders and JohnChartres, secre-
taries to thedelegation, confirmed theprocedures for the conferencewith theirEnglish counterparts; on11October
1921 the firstPlenaryConference tookplaceat10DowningStreet.Wecan find few references to thisdocument in the
standardworks on the period, although it clearlyhas an important bearing on the questionofDeValera’s approach
to the talks. It is quoted in part inMacardle, but is notmentioned inPakenham, Longford&O’Neill, Coogan (‘De
Valera’) or Fanning (‘Documents on Irish Foreign Policy 1919-22’). It is not inCarty, and is evidently exceedingly
rare.
€350 - 450
183 [DEVALERA, Eamon]
Daily Bulletin. No. 165. Friday, April 13th 1923. President’s Address to theArmy.With: DeValera’s Declaration of
Independence.As toldbyhim to aRepresentativeof theAmericanPress onMay5th, 1918.Nowgiven in the formof
verse for the first time. Single folio sheet, printedone side only inbrown ink, withportrait sketch. N.p., anti-Treaty.
Single cyclostyled sheet, printedone sideonly. Folio. Rare. (2)
TheBulletin containsDeValera’swell-knownmessage on the deathof LiamLynch,military commander of the an-
ti-Treaty forces, urging the Soldiers of theRepublic to renew their pledges of devotion. “Youhave to fling yourselves
across thepathof the stampedeof anation. But it is better todienobly, as your chief hasdied, than to live a slave”. In
spiteof this ringingmessage,Lynch’sdeathmarked theeffectiveendof theCivilWar.Republican forceswereordered
to cease offensive action twoweeks later, and to dump their arms the followingmonth. It is highly significant that
in this document, and in the RepublicanCease FireOrder issued on 27April 1923, deValera referred to himself as
President of the Republic. This title derived from the reconvening of the SecondDail Eireann on 25October 1922,
and the appointment bydeValeraof aCouncil of State and aCabinet to contest the legitimacyof theFree State.
€150 - 200
184 [DEVALERA, Eamon]
Ireland andWorldWar II. Two signatures - EamonDeValera andEdouardHempelDuring ‘TheEmergency’. Pres-
ident Roosevelt died onApril 12th, 1945. DeValera as Taoiseach sent amessage of sympathy to President Truman
and calledon theAmericanMinister (Ambassador).Hitler alsodied inApril andDeValerapaida formal call onDr.
Hempel, theGermanAmbassador, which caused enormous controversy andoutrage. These twowartime signatures
are evocativeof a famous historical episode.
€300 - 400
Lot 184
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