Studio & State

The Hugh Lane Gallery and the National Museum of Ireland are co-curating an exhibition to mark the centenary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The exhibition will be located in the National Museum, Collins Barracks, and will be open to the public from 24th November 2021.

It is planned to examine the political and military background to the Treaty, particularly the role of Dáil Éireann and the Cabinet, nascent Free State / Republican military forces, and their representation or otherwise of the Irish people. Negotiations for and signing of the Treaty were crystallizing moments for Ireland during the 'decade of disturbance' from 1913 to 1923; from signing to angry Dáil debate to narrow ratification and their aftermath, the Treaty as a vehicle of peace would mutate into a written accelerator for civil war.