Treaty Ports (Ireland)
Encyclopedia
Following the establishment of the Irish Free State
, three deep water Treaty Ports at Berehaven
, Queenstown (modern Cobh
) and Lough Swilly
were retained by the United Kingdom
as sovereign bases in accordance with the Anglo-Irish Treaty
of 6 December 1921. Formerly, when the Free State was a part of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
, the Royal Navy
had designated its Ireland Station as a long-standing separate command.
The main reason for the retention of the ports was the recent U-boat Campaign
around Irish coasts in 1914-18, and a concern by the British government that it might re-occur. As a part of the overall Anglo-Irish settlement it was envisaged that all other Royal Navy, British Army
and RAF
personnel and equipment were to evacuate the Free State.
As part of the resolution of the Anglo-Irish Trade War
in the 1930s, the ports were returned to Ireland
(the Free State's successor) in 1938 following agreements reached between the British and Irish Governments.
The Annex referred to in that Article read as follows:
The Annex included reference to Belfast Lough because Northern Ireland was included within the original territory of the Irish Free State
although under the Treaty it had the right to opt out of the Free State and back into the UK. It did so on 8 December 1922
. With the departure of Northern Ireland from the Free State, this left three United Kingdom bases in the territory of the Free State (subsequently renamed Ireland in 1937). The continued occupation by the United Kingdom of these bases was a thorn in the side of Irish leaders at the time.
Notably, the position of the Treaty ports was raised by de Valera in correspondence with the British Government in 1932 shortly before the beginning of the Economic War
, where he noted:
that was not in the interest of either country's economy. Negotiations to settle the matters in dispute took place in 1938. One of the items the Irish side pushed for was the return of the Treaty Ports. Ultimately, this was agreed to and the United Kingdom enacted the Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938
, which put in effect, among other things, the British government's agreement to return the Treaty Ports. From an Irish point of view, the handover of the ports in the lead up to World War II
was felt vital to consolidate Ireland's neutrality
during "The Emergency".
The Times choice of headline was a little misleading in one respect - the British troops at Berehaven were not the last troops to leave the Irish state. The evacuation of Lough Swilly
was yet to take place.
Two brothers in-law, one hauling down a Union Jack and the other hauling up an Irish tricolour was indeed a poignant end to the long history of British military presence in the territory of the Irish state. It was also the last time sovereignty over any territory was ceded to Ireland.
, considered the handover a short-sighted decision, since at the start of the Battle of the Atlantic in 1939, the convoy escort refuelling facilities Berehaven and Queenstown would have provided were 200 miles further out into the Atlantic than those in Northern Ireland
and Great Britain
. It is claimed that this is a common misconception . Allied convoys were routed to America via Iceland and the Northern Irish ports. A route via Ireland's southern coast was compromised due to the fall of French airfields, exposing convoys to German air attacks, which accounted for most British shipping losses early in the war. Also the Iceland route provided more air cover and escort refueling for allied convoys. The Treaty Ports weren't at all valuable for protecting the Liverpool-Iceland-America traffic. Iceland, not Ireland
, was the geographic key to the war in the Atlantic . However this would not apply to convoys to Gibraltar and the south, or across the Atlantic prior to mid-1940. Many in the Navy felt similar resentment, see Nicolas Monsarrat's "The Cruel Sea". The following are extracts from Churchill's speech, one of the few MPs who was critical of the Agreement. Churchill warned of the folly of handing over the Treaty ports to the Irish Free State, but was supported by only a handful of Members of Parliament.
Churchill also remarked that the concessions under the Agreements of 1938 were “astonishing triumphs” for Irish leader, Éamon de Valera
. Churchill also asked would it not be"far better to give up the £10,000,000 [a one-off Irish payment under the Agreement], and acquire the legal right, be it only on a lease granted by treaty, to use these harbours when necessary?" Mr Churchill also made a remark concerning the name by which the Irish state would henceforth be described in the UK (Eire) - "I have not been able to form a clear opinion on the exact juridical position of the Government of that portion of Ireland called Southern Ireland, which is now called Eire. That is a word which really has no application at the present time, and I must say, even from the point of view of the ordinary uses of English, that it is not customary to quote a term in a foreign language, a capital town, a geographical place, when there exists a perfectly well-known English equivalent [Ireland]. It is usual to say Paris not Paree."
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
, three deep water Treaty Ports at Berehaven
Castletownbere
Castletownbere is a small town in County Cork in Ireland. It is located on the southwest coast of Ireland, in West Cork, on Berehaven harbour near the entrance to Bantry Bay. It is also known as Castletown Berehaven. The name of the town comes from the no longer extant MacCarty Castle, and not...
, Queenstown (modern Cobh
Cobh
Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...
) and Lough Swilly
Lough Swilly
Lough Swilly in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three known glacial fjords in Ireland....
were retained by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as sovereign bases in accordance with the Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...
of 6 December 1921. Formerly, when the Free State was a part of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
had designated its Ireland Station as a long-standing separate command.
The main reason for the retention of the ports was the recent U-boat Campaign
U-boat Campaign (World War I)
The U-boat Campaign from 1914 to 1918 was the World War I naval campaign fought by German U-boats against the trade routes of the Entente Powers...
around Irish coasts in 1914-18, and a concern by the British government that it might re-occur. As a part of the overall Anglo-Irish settlement it was envisaged that all other Royal Navy, British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
personnel and equipment were to evacuate the Free State.
As part of the resolution of the Anglo-Irish Trade War
Anglo-Irish Trade War
The Anglo-Irish Trade War was a retaliatory trade war between the Irish Free State and the United Kingdom lasting from 1932 until 1938...
in the 1930s, the ports were returned to Ireland
Éire
is the Irish name for the island of Ireland and the sovereign state of the same name.- Etymology :The modern Irish Éire evolved from the Old Irish word Ériu, which was the name of a Gaelic goddess. Ériu is generally believed to have been the matron goddess of Ireland, a goddess of sovereignty, or...
(the Free State's successor) in 1938 following agreements reached between the British and Irish Governments.
Background
Article 7 of the Anglo-Irish Treaty had provided as follows:The Annex referred to in that Article read as follows:
The Annex included reference to Belfast Lough because Northern Ireland was included within the original territory of the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
although under the Treaty it had the right to opt out of the Free State and back into the UK. It did so on 8 December 1922
Partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland was the division of the island of Ireland into two distinct territories, now Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . Partition occurred when the British Parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act 1920...
. With the departure of Northern Ireland from the Free State, this left three United Kingdom bases in the territory of the Free State (subsequently renamed Ireland in 1937). The continued occupation by the United Kingdom of these bases was a thorn in the side of Irish leaders at the time.
Notably, the position of the Treaty ports was raised by de Valera in correspondence with the British Government in 1932 shortly before the beginning of the Economic War
Economic war
Economic war may refer to*The Anglo-Irish Trade War*An set of policies in Uganda under Idi Amin, including the expropriation of properties owned by Asians and Europeans....
, where he noted:
Agreement on return of Treaty Ports
By 1938 the Governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom had been involved in a long-running Anglo-Irish Trade WarAnglo-Irish Trade War
The Anglo-Irish Trade War was a retaliatory trade war between the Irish Free State and the United Kingdom lasting from 1932 until 1938...
that was not in the interest of either country's economy. Negotiations to settle the matters in dispute took place in 1938. One of the items the Irish side pushed for was the return of the Treaty Ports. Ultimately, this was agreed to and the United Kingdom enacted the Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938
Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938
The Eire Act 1938 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed on 17 May 1938. It was the British implementing measure for the 1938 Anglo-Irish Agreements which were signed at London on 25 April 1938 by the Governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom...
, which put in effect, among other things, the British government's agreement to return the Treaty Ports. From an Irish point of view, the handover of the ports in the lead up to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was felt vital to consolidate Ireland's neutrality
Neutral country
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
during "The Emergency".
Spike Island Handover (11 July 1938)
On 12 July 1938, The Times reported on the handover of Spike Island, Cobh (51°50′2.15"N 8°17′5.97"W) on 11 July 1938 as follows:Berehaven Handover (30 September 1938)
On 1 October 1938, The Times reported on the handover of Berehaven (51°37′50.49"N 9°52′44.10"W) on 30 September 1938 as follows:The Times choice of headline was a little misleading in one respect - the British troops at Berehaven were not the last troops to leave the Irish state. The evacuation of Lough Swilly
Lough Swilly
Lough Swilly in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three known glacial fjords in Ireland....
was yet to take place.
Lough Swilly Handover (3 October 1938)
On 4 October 1938, The Times reported on the handover of Lough Swilly at Fort Dunree (55°11′48.26"N 7°33′10.95"W) on 3 October, 1938 as follows:Two brothers in-law, one hauling down a Union Jack and the other hauling up an Irish tricolour was indeed a poignant end to the long history of British military presence in the territory of the Irish state. It was also the last time sovereignty over any territory was ceded to Ireland.
Winston Churchill's reaction
Some in Britain, including Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, considered the handover a short-sighted decision, since at the start of the Battle of the Atlantic in 1939, the convoy escort refuelling facilities Berehaven and Queenstown would have provided were 200 miles further out into the Atlantic than those in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. It is claimed that this is a common misconception . Allied convoys were routed to America via Iceland and the Northern Irish ports. A route via Ireland's southern coast was compromised due to the fall of French airfields, exposing convoys to German air attacks, which accounted for most British shipping losses early in the war. Also the Iceland route provided more air cover and escort refueling for allied convoys. The Treaty Ports weren't at all valuable for protecting the Liverpool-Iceland-America traffic. Iceland, not Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, was the geographic key to the war in the Atlantic . However this would not apply to convoys to Gibraltar and the south, or across the Atlantic prior to mid-1940. Many in the Navy felt similar resentment, see Nicolas Monsarrat's "The Cruel Sea". The following are extracts from Churchill's speech, one of the few MPs who was critical of the Agreement. Churchill warned of the folly of handing over the Treaty ports to the Irish Free State, but was supported by only a handful of Members of Parliament.
Churchill also remarked that the concessions under the Agreements of 1938 were “astonishing triumphs” for Irish leader, Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
. Churchill also asked would it not be"far better to give up the £10,000,000 [a one-off Irish payment under the Agreement], and acquire the legal right, be it only on a lease granted by treaty, to use these harbours when necessary?" Mr Churchill also made a remark concerning the name by which the Irish state would henceforth be described in the UK (Eire) - "I have not been able to form a clear opinion on the exact juridical position of the Government of that portion of Ireland called Southern Ireland, which is now called Eire. That is a word which really has no application at the present time, and I must say, even from the point of view of the ordinary uses of English, that it is not customary to quote a term in a foreign language, a capital town, a geographical place, when there exists a perfectly well-known English equivalent [Ireland]. It is usual to say Paris not Paree."
Early proposal of de Valera re Ports
Ironically, in his preferred version of the Treaty that was rejected, the republicans' leader Éamon de Valera had offered in Article 8 to allow the same status in the same ports, but only for a period of five years. He went further than the Treaty by suggesting in clause (b) that in wartime the British could use whatever harbours they "may reasonably require". This was impolitic to recall in the 1930s.- 8. That for five years, pending the establishment of Irish coastal defence forces, or for such other period as the Governments of the two countries may later agree upon, facilities for the coastal defence of Ireland shall be given to the British Government as follows:
- (a) In time of peace such harbour and other facilities as are indicated in the Annex hereto, or such other facilities as may from time to time be agreed upon between the British Government and the Government of Ireland.
- (b) In time of war such harbour and other Naval facilities as the British Government may reasonably require for the purposes of such defence as aforesaid.