In 1921, Michael Collins argued that the Anglo-Irish treaty offered nationalists the freedom to achieve freedom.
In 1926, Kevin O’Higgins went to London with a proposal to have the British monarch crowned king of a reunited Ireland.
In 1933, Eoin O’Duffy advocated a corporatist state on the Fascist Italian model, within a republican settlement.
John M. Regan explains how such contrasting political views were reconciled within an evolving pro-treaty position.
Regan argues that in order to understand the development of the new state. With the establishment of a viable democracy it must first be recognised that a dedicated anti war position underpins a peaceful settlement.