#jan smuts

July 11 1921, London–The Sinn Féin sweep of the Southern Irish elections, winning every seat unopposed except the ones associated with Trinity College, put a deadline on British efforts in Ireland.  A Southern Irish government was, by the terms of the Government of Ireland Act 1920, to be established no later than July 12.  Sinn Féin, following its usual abstentionist policies, would not take their seats in any Southern Irish parliament, leaving the British forced to either impose military rule on all of Southern Ireland, or reach a negotiated settlement with Sinn Féin.  The former was never seriously considered, so it became a question of finding an agreeable basis for negotiations with the Irish.

At the opening of the Northern Irish parliament on June 22, King George gave a conciliatory speech.  In the meantime, Jan Smuts, who had recently arrived from South Africa for a conference, began his own negotiations through Tom Casement (brother of the late Roger), and both agreed that a peaceful solution could be found which did not involve British recognition of an Irish Republic.  Casement and Smuts arranged the release of additional negotiators, and a truce was agreed to on July 9, entering into effect on July 11.  The terms were slightly unclear, with the Irish and British ultimately publishing different versions, but both sides would stop attacks and raids, and the British would cease military maneuvers and searches.

The truce came as something of a surprise to many in the IRA, and it would attract some criticism from those who felt they could beat the British without making concessions regarding Ireland’s political future.  British criticism of the truce was more muted, as it was clear the only alternative was a military occupation of the whole island that nobody was in favor of after nearly seven years of war.

Sources include: Michael Hopkinson, The Irish War of Independence