“We suggest to all leaders, Army and Political, and all citizens and soldiers of Ireland, the advisability of a union of forces on the basis of the acceptance and utilisation of our present national position in the best interests of Ireland, and we require that nothing shall be done that would prejudice our position or dissipate our forces.
“We feel that on this basis alone can the situation best be faced, viz.:—
“(1) The acceptance of the Pact—admitted by all sides—that the majority of the people of Ireland are willing to accept the Treaty.
“(2) An agreed election with a view to
“(3) Forming a Government which will have the confidence of the whole country.
“(4) Army unification on above basis.”
That was signed by Tom Hales, Humphrey Murphy, Sean O’Hegarty, Florrie O’Donoghue, Sean Boylan, Dick Mulcahy, Owen O’Duffy, Gearoid O’Sullivan, Mick Collins and myself. That is, five of us who opposed the Treaty and five who favoured it. In the Civil War which followed both Florrie O’Donoghue and Sean O’Hegarty remained neutral.
These proposals came in for severe criticism. The Republican Headquarters in the Four Courts at once issued a statement repudiating the terms, and suggesting the whole thing was an attempt to split their ranks. I myself received my full share of adverse criticism. One Republican Journal, The Plain People, described me as a “Judas—with perhaps the difference that I had not got the thirty pieces of silver.” I do not to this day know who the editor of this paper was. Perhaps he believed what he wrote. I paid no heed to these observations. My duty I believed was to strain every nerve to avoid civil war.
On May 3rd, those who had signed this suggested basis of peace were received by the Dail, and Sean O’Hegarty addressed the House. The result was the appointment of a Committee representing both sides in the Dail to discuss the proposals.
The next step was to see what could be done to bring about a reunion in the Army. A conference was arranged between the chiefs on both sides, and several meetings were held. But neither the Army chiefs nor the political chiefs could come to any lasting agreement. The one result of all the negotiations was the Pact between Eamon de Valera and Michael Collins agreeing to contest the coming elections as a United Sinn Fein Party, both Free Staters and Republicans standing on the same ticket and not opposing each other. In that way all the outgoing members of the Dail were again nominated, and the agreement was that after the election there was to be a Coalition Ministry.