A Chara,
An tráth ba dhiadnaighe bhíomair i gcomhairle a chéile thugas mar thuairim uaim ná féadfadh Dáil Eireann is ná déanfadh muinntear na hEireann glacadh le tairsgint bhur Riaghaltais fé mar leagadh amach é i sgríbhinn úd an 20adh lae d'Iúl a chuiris fé mo dhéin.² Tar éis comhairle a ghlacadh lem' chomhdhaltaibh agus dianmhachtnamh do dhéanamh ar an tairsgint deinim deimhin de'n tuairim sin anois.

An míniughadh tugtar 'san scríbhinn sáruigheann sé é féin, agus ní furas 'brígh an Chonnartha' do dhéanamh amach. Chomh fada is mar chialluigheann sé go ngabhann a náisiúntacht féin le hEirinn is go bhfuil de cheart aici a réir féin do cheapadh glacaimíd leis, gan amhras. Acht ins na ceanglaibh agus na coinghealla[h]aibh i dtaoibh nidhthe atá bunadhsach is greannmhar linn go gcuirtear an bhrígh sin ar leath-taoibh, agus leigeann bhur Riaghaltas-sa ortha go bhfuil de chead aca cur isteach ar ár ngnóthaibh agus smacht do chur orainn i slighe nach féadaimíd a admháil.

Tá de cheart ag Eirinn a rogha slighe do ghabháil fa'n saoghal atá i ndán di, agus ceart é nach ceadtha dhúinn a scaoileadh ar cheal. Ceart é tá dá bhuan-chosaint tre chiantaibh de chruadhtan, tre iodhbairt nár sáruigheadh riamh, is tre ghéirleanmhain nár áirmhigheadh riamh, agus ní thabharfar suas é choidhche. Ní dual dúinne a chur ar neamhbhrígh ná a lagughadh. Mar a chéile, ní dleaghthach do'n Bhreatain Mhóir ná d'aon stát eile ná cumann stát bacadh le héifeacht an chirt sin ar mhaithe le n-a gcúramaibh áirithe féin.

Is é tuairim muinntire na hEireann go dtiocfaidh buanrath na tíre dá ríribh tre bheith i n-a haonar i gcúrsaibh polaitíochta, saor ó shnadhmaibh impireamhla do cheangalfadh iad i n-eachtraibh nach réidhteochadh le tréithibh an náisiúin agus a mhilfeadh na nidhthe is annsa leo, agus ná tabharfadh mar thoradh chughtha acht cogtha creachta is cúramaidhe móra, míoshástacht an phobail, achrann fóirleathan is míshéan. Ar nós beag-státa na hEorpa, ní miste leo go seasochadh a neamhspleadhchas ar bhunadhas cirt; bheadh dóchas aca, ó budh rud é ná bagrochaidís féin ar thír ná ar mhuinntir eile, go mbeidís féin saor ar an gcuma céadna ó ionnsuidhe eachtrannach. Sin é an tuairim a chuireadar i gcéill arís agus arís eile tre ghuth an phobail; agus is do réir mar druidtear uaidh sin, nó ó aon chúrsa eile ba mhian leis an bpobal, a thuigfear cad é an méid fóiréigin iasachta agus lámh láidir a bheidh le cur i bhfeidhm i gcoinnibh na nidhthe is mian le furmhór ár ndaoine.

Maidir liom féin is lem' chomhdhaltaibh, is é ár dtu[i]rim daingean gur tre dheighilt ghlan charthannach is túisce thiocfaidh an muinnteardhas le Sacsaibh atá curtha ar athló le ciantaibh de bharr fóiréigin airm. An eagla so go ndéanfaidhe ionad de thalamh na hEireann chum fogha do thabhairt fé shaoirse Shacsan - eagla gan bhun do réir a dtuairime - is féidir deimhniughadh oireamhnach do thabhairt i n-a thaoibh san nach beidh bun os cionn le staid saorstáit.

Gach duine a thuigeann cúrsaidhe an scéil is léir do nach bhfuil acht samhail bréige 'san abairt úd 'Staid Tighearnachta d'Eirinn.' An saoirse atá ag na Tighearnachtaibh so fé chomairce Bhreatan is lugha tá sé aca de bharr reacht is connradh 'ná de dheascaibh na móraistear idir iad féin is an Bhreatain Mhór; ní leigid na haistir seo dhi cur isteach ortha. Gach deimhniughadh dearbhtha is féidir a cheapadh; fiú an cead deighilte atá, mar admhuightear, ag na Tighearnachtaibh, níor mhór iad chun a shamhail de shaoirse do dheimhniughadh d'Eirinn. Ní léir dúinn aon deimhniughadh mar soin ná a rian féin i nbhur dtairsgint. I n-a ionad san, cuirtear an staid, mar atá, bun os cionn; an láthair mar a bhfuilimíd i gcomórtas leis an mBreatain Mhóir deintear leathscéal de chum ár gceart do dhiúltadh is do chumhangadh i slighe nach aithnid do Thighearnachtaibh: is éigin do'n oileán bheag dlúthchosaint is deimhniughadh eile do thabhairt do'n oileán mhór do réir deallraimh, agus glacadh le staid sealbhuidheachta fé dhearbh-smacht.

Is soiléir ná féadfaimís-na a thabhairt mar chomhairle dár muinntir glacadh le n-a leithéid de thairsgint. Badh thoil linn saor-cheangal áirithe le 'Cumann na Náisiún fé Chomairce Bhreatan,' amhail is dá mba Cumann de Náisiúnaibh áirithe é, do mholadh; agus níor mhiste linn mar Riaghaltas, Connradh dhéanamh i n-a thaoibh, agus a chur mar chúram orainn féin, dá n-eirgheadh linn deimhniughadh d'fhagháil go mbeadh an beagán dár ndaoinibh nach tagann linn anois dílis dúinn dá gcuirimís a shamhail de cheangal ar ár náisiún uile, rud do cheapamair d'aon ghnó mar chomhartha báidhe leo súd.

Is toil linn connartha i dtaoibh bhur dtairsgean mar gheall ar shaor-thráchtáil is laigheadughadh arm ar gach taoibh do shocrughadh aon tráth. Gan amhras d'fhéadfaidhe socrugadh do dhéanamh eadrainn a rachadh i dtairbhe do chomhshlightibh i gcomhair tráchtála 'san aer, tre bhóithribh iarainn, is mar soin de. Is deimhin ná cuirfimíd-na aon bhac ar an gcaidreamh cneasta i gcúrsaibh ceannuidheachta is riachtanach do shaoghal an dá oileán, is gurabh iad féin araon an ceannuidhe is fearr agus an margadh is fearr ag a chéile. Is éigin a thuigsint, ámh, nár mhór gach coimhcheangal is connradh aca súd do leagadh os comhair riaghaltais an náisiúin i dtosach, chum go ndéanfaidhe a ndeimhniughadh, agus iar shoin os comhair muinntire na hEireann uile fé choingheallachaibh a léireochaidh gur breitheamhnas ar a dtoil féin an breitheamhnas agus ná raibh aon rian de smacht airm le tabhairt fé ndeara aca le n-a linn.

An bhaint atá ag Eirinn le 'cuid de fhiachaibh na Ríoghachta Aontuighthe fé láthair' ní miste linn a shocrughadh san d'fhagaint fé bhord breitheamhan:

Eire aimneochadh duine aca, an Bhreatain Mhór an dara duine, agus thogh- faidís eadartha an treas duine, no dá dteipeadh ortha dhéanfadh Uachtarán Stát Aontuighthe Ameirice, abair, é ainmniughadh dá mbudh thoil leis san.

I dtaoibh an nidhe atá i gceist i gcúrsaibh polaitíochta idir bheagán de mhuinntir na hEireann agus a bhfurmhór mór, caithfear réidhteacht na ceiste sin d'fhágaint fé mhuinntir na hEireann féin. Ní dual dúinn a admháil go bhfuil de cheart ag Riaghaltas Breatan ár n-oileán do chreim-ghearradh ar mhaithe leo féin nó mar fhreagra ar chuireadh ó aon roinnt dár ndaoinibh. Níl ceaptha againne feidhm do bhaint as fóiréigean. Má dhruideann bhur Riaghaltas-sa ar leathtaoibh tiocfaidh linne cáirdeas do cheangal eadrainn uile. Táimíd ar aon aigne libh 'nach tre smacht a thagann coimhcheangal is cáirdeas.' Is eadh is truagh linn nach toil le nbhur Riaghaltas fós an chomhairle chiallmhar so leagann sibh amach dúinne i gcomhair socruighthe ár gceiste teóranta annso do chur i bhfeidhm i gcomhair socruighthe na ceiste bunadhsaighe atá ag síor-chur isteach ar mhuinteardhas an dá oileán so. I n-ár dtaoibh-na, an leigheas go seasuighmíd air thall glacfaimíd leis i bhfus. Agus muna féidir socrughadh do cheapadh le comhthoil gan mhoill is toil linn, fós, socrughadh na ceiste seo d'fhágaint fé bhreitheamhnas iasachta.

Dá réir sin is toil linn teacht libh i ngach nidh dá bhfuil oireamhnach cóir. Ní ar ár Riaghaltas-na acht ar bhur Riaghaltas-sa atá sé mar phríomh chúram síothcháin do sholáthairt le onóir. Níl aon choingheallacha againne le déanamh, aon éileamh againn le cur, acht an t-aon cheann .i. go mbeimís saor ó ionnsuidhe eachtrann. Cúitighimíd libh go dúthrachtach an dúil seo luaidhte agaibh i gcomhcháirdeas buan, agus is móide ár ndúthracht 'san dúil sin an ghéirleanmhain atá curtha dhíobh le ciantaibh ag ár muinntir. An sean-achrann so gur aithreachas libh é, ní raibh riamh mar bhun leis, mar is eol dúinn agus mar is léir ó sheanchus, acht an t-ionnsuidhe dhein lucht riaghalta Sacsan ar shaoirse Eireann. Is féidir deireadh a chur leis an ionnsuidhe sin láithreach má's toil le nbhur Riaghaltas é. Tá slighe na síothchána ar leathadh romhainn.

Sir,
On the occasion of our last interview I gave it as my judgement that Dáil Eireann could not and that the Irish people would not accept the proposals of your Government as set forth in the draft of July 20th, which you had presented to me.² Having consulted my colleagues, and with them given these proposals the most earnest consideration, I now confirm that judgement.

The outline given in the draft is self-contradictory, and 'the principle of the pact' not easy to determine. To the extent that it implies a recognition of Ireland's separate nationhood and her right to self-determination, we appreciate and accept it. But in the stipulations and express conditions concerning the matters that are vital the principle is strangely set aside and a claim advanced by your Government to an interference in our affairs, and to a control which we cannot admit.

Ireland's right to choose for herself the path she shall take to realise her own destiny must be accepted as indefeasible. It is a right that has been maintained through centuries of oppression and at the cost of unparalleled sacrifice and untold suffering, and it will not be surrendered. We cannot propose to abrogate or impair it, nor can Britain or any other foreign state or group of states legitimately claim to interfere with its exercise in order to serve their own special interests.

The Irish people's belief is that the national destiny can best be realised in political detachment, free from Imperialistic entanglements which they feel will involve enterprises out of harmony with the national character, prove destructive of their ideals, and be fruitful only of ruinous wars, crushing burdens, social discontent, and general unrest and unhappiness. Like the small states of Europe, they are prepared to hazard their independence on the basis of moral right, confident that as they would threaten no nation or people they would in turn be free from aggression themselves. This is the policy they have declared for in plebiscite after plebiscite, and the degree to which any other line of policy deviates from it must be taken as a measure of the extent to which external pressure is operative and violence is being done to the wishes of the majority.

As for myself and my colleagues, it is our deep conviction that true friendship with England, which military coercion has frustrated for centuries, can be obtained most readily now through amicable but absolute separation. The fear, groundless though we believe it to be, that Irish territory may be used as the basis for an attack upon England's liberties, can be met by reasonable guarantees not inconsistent with Irish sovereignty.

'Dominion' status for Ireland everyone who understands the conditions knows to be illusory. The freedom which the British Dominions enjoy is not so much the result of legal enactments or of treaties as of the immense distances which separate them from Britain and have made interference by her impracticable. The most explicit guarantees, including the Dominions' acknowledged right to secede, would be necessary to secure for Ireland an equal degree of freedom. There is no suggestion, however, in the proposals made of any such guarantees. Instead, the natural position is reversed; our geographical situation with respect to Britain is made the basis of denials and restrictions unheard of in the case of the Dominions; the smaller island must give military safeguards and guarantees to the larger and suffer itself to be reduced to the position of a helpless dependency.

It should be obvious that we could not urge the acceptance of such proposals upon our people. A certain treaty of free association with the British Commonwealth group, as with a partial league of nations, we would have been ready to recommend, and as a Government to negotiate and take responsibility for, had we an assurance that the entry of the nation as a whole into such association would secure for it the allegiance of the present dissenting minority, to meet whose sentiment alone this step could be contemplated.

Treaties dealing with the proposals for free inter-trade and mutual limitation of armaments we are ready at any time to negotiate. Mutual agreement for facilitating air communications, as well as railway and other communications, can, we feel certain, also be effected. No obstacle of any kind will be placed by us in the way of that smooth commercial intercourse which is essential in the life of both islands, each the best customer and the best market of the other. It must, of course, be understood that all treaties and agreements would have to be submitted for ratification to the national legislature in the first instance, and subsequently to the Irish people as a whole under circumstances which would make it evident that their decision would be a free decision, and that every element of military compulsion was absent.

The question of Ireland's liability 'for a share of the present debt of the United Kingdom' we are prepared to leave to be determined by a board of arbitrators, one appointed by Ireland, one by Great Britain, and a third to be chosen by agreement, or in default, to be nominated, say, by the President of the United States of America, if the President would consent.

As regards the question at issue between the political minority and the great majority of the Irish people, that must remain a question for the Irish people themselves to settle. We cannot admit the right of the British Government to mutilate our country, either in its own interest or at the call of any section of our population. We do not contemplate the use of force. If your Government stands aside, we can effect a complete reconciliation. We agree with you 'that no common action can be secured by force.' Our regret is that this wise and true principle which your Government prescribes to us for the settlement of our local problem it seems unwilling to apply consistently to the fundamental problem of the relations between our island and yours. The principle we rely on in the one case we are ready to apply in the other, but should this principle not yield an immediate settlement we are willing that this question too be submitted to external arbitration.

Thus we are ready to meet you in all that is reasonable and just. The responsibility for initiating and effecting an honourable peace rests primarily not with our Government, but with yours. We have no conditions to impose, no claims to advance but the one, that we be freed from aggression. We reciprocate with a sincerity to be measured only by the terrible sufferings our people have undergone the desire you express for mutual and lasting friendship. The sole cause of the 'ancient feuds' which you deplore has been, as we know, and as history proves, the attacks of English rulers upon Irish liberties. These attacks can cease forthwith, if your Government has the will. The road to peace and understanding lies open.