Irish peace hopes hang in the balance

“As a result of Mr De Valera’s provocative telegram to the Pope, which reasserts in the most extreme form the Sinn Fein claim of independence, and repudiates allegiance to the king, the fate of the Irish conference is trembling in the balance,” reported The Post.

“In political circles it is stated that the message, which was unsolicited by His Holiness, was not authorised or approved by Sinn Fein and it is said that they consider it unwise. Lloyd George made it clear that if Mr De Valera’s provocative message represented the unalterable standpoint of the Irish delegates a conference for the settlement of differences was useless.”

The peace talks eventually resulted in the signing of the Anglo-irish Treaty in December that year, which created the Irish Free State, forerunner of the current Republic of Ireland.