Events to mark Anglo-Irish Treaty centenary announced

Minister Catherine Martin praised the creativity of those artists and musicians who are involved in this Programme.

A programme of events to mark the centenary of various aspects of the Anglo-Irish Treaty which was signed on December 6, 1921 has been formally published.

The anniversary comemoration was revealedby Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, and will include several key national events.

Foremost of these is the National Archives exhibition in the Coach House at Dublin Castle later this year, where the Treaty document will be displayed in public for the first time since its signing 100 years ago.

The programme further showcases a number of other important events and initiatives which examine different aspects of this founding document and mark the various centenaries of the milestones associated with the signing of the Treaty.

Minister Martin, who took the opportunity of today’s publication to visit the National Archives for a preview of the Treaty, said: “This centenary moment is a really significant event in our shared history and a key focus in this year’s Decade of Centenaries Programme. It is also a personal journey into family memory for the relatives of the men and women who formed the Irish and British Treaty negotiation delegations. I wanted to ensure that the Programme has something that interests everyone. You don’t need to be an historian or an expert on this period of history to appreciate the different stories attached to this key document and the impact it had on future events.”

She added that from the outset of the Decade of Centenaries Programme in 2012, the State has sought to ensure that historical accuracy, academic integrity and archival discovery are the key tenets of the programme of commemoration.

This Programme of events to commemorate the Treaty, she notes, reflects the wealth of material on this pivotal document now available for the public to see in our National Cultural Institutions.

Both the National Archives and the National Museum will be hosting exciting and ground breaking exhibitions on various aspects of The Treaty with previously unseen material.  I urge everyone with an interest in our history, our present and our future to explore these new presentations and perspectives”.

Joining the Minister, Orlaith McBride, Director of the National Archives, said: “Using the Treaty as the centrepiece, the exhibition places significant documents from the collections of the National Archives on public display for the first time. My colleagues and I are looking forward to the public’s engagement with these rich collections.”

Minister Martin meanwhile praised the creativity of those artists and musicians who are involved in this Programme.

The innovative approach of ANU Productions working with Poet Theo Dorgan to stage the treaty debates in the National Concert Hall she hoped will bring this key moment in irish history to life in a completely unique way.

“The National Concert Hall itself will invite leading Irish musicians and song-writers to reflect on those involved in the debates and to create portraits of a generation in a moment of huge change, culminating in a concert in December to showcase this work. I also look forward to seeing Fishamble Theatre Company’s production of “The Treaty” by Colin Murphy which delves into the lives of those involved in the Treaty negotiations.”