'The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives': National Archives' centenary exhibition in partnership with RIA, OPW and NLI due to open on 7 December 2021

In December 2021 the National Archives' landmark centenary exhibition on the Anglo-Irish Treaty, The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives, will open in Dublin Castle. It is being presented by the National Archives in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy, the Office of Public Works and the National Library of Ireland, to mark the centenary of the signing of the Treaty in London on 6 December 1921. 

Using the Treaty itself as the centrepiece, this major exhibition of records relating to the negotiation and signing of the Treaty is placing significant documents from the collections of the National Archives on public display for the first time, with records also on display from the collections of the Military Archives, Dublin, and UCD Archives. The RIA's Documents on Irish Foreign Policy (DIFP) project has played a central role as a partner in the exhibition, developing the exhibition text and co-curating the structure and content for the exhibition with the National Archives.

The exhibition will open to the public in Dublin Castle on 7 December 2021. To mark the centenary of the beginning of the negotiations in October 1921, a preview of the exhibition was hosted from 12-23 October at the British Academy, London, in partnership with the Embassy of Ireland, Great Britain.

The signature page of the Irish copy of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Reproduced by permission of the Director of the National Archives.

Watch this RTÉ report on the London preview exhibition, read this short guide to the Treaty negotiations by John Gibney (Assistant Editor, DIFP), from RTÉ's Century Ireland project, and listen to this podcast on the exhibition featuring John Gibney and Zoë Reid (Senior Conservator, National Archives), recorded for Westmeath County Council. Many of the documents relating to the Treaty negotiations were published in the first volume of the DIFP series and are available online here.

The Treaty, 1921: records from the archives opens to the public on 7 December 2021 and runs until 27 March 2022 at the Coach House Gallery, Dublin Castle Gardens, Dame Street, Dublin 2, D02 X822. Opening hours: 10am – 5pm, daily. Admission free but booking essential.