John Chartres: Mystery Man of the Treaty.
Author: MURPHY, Brian P.
Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1995. 189 pages. Hardback.
This book is an attempt to unravel the strange circumstances surrounding John Chartres, who was in British Intelligence in 1920, and was then secretary on the Irish side during the Treaty negotiations of 1921. Did he retain links with British Intelligence or was he in fact a genuine convert to the Irish cause?
The early life of Chartres is traced, leading up to his appointment to the Intelligence Section of British Munitions during World War I. His initial contacts with Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins and his first appointment as republican envoy to Berlin in 1921 are then examined. Recently released papers make it possible to tell not only the story of the early days of the Department of Foreign Affairs with special reference to Berlin, but also to reveal a gun-running connection between Chartres and Joe McGarrity, an American IRB leader.
During the Treaty negotiations Chartres had particular responsibility for drafting the formula of the Oath and on matters to do with Irish recognition of the Crown. The telling of his life-story sheds new light on Michael Collins, the Treaty talks, the evolution of the Department of Foreign Affairs and, finally, the origins of the Civil War and the emergence of the Free State.
ISBN: 0716525437
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