Dave while I appreciate your comments, I think it worth pointing out that there was no way Ireland was going to get her freedom unless people were prepared to resort to violence sad as it was. Michael Collins the master-mind behind the fight for freedom saw this quite clearly. The history of the Home Rule Bill going all the way back to Gladstone saw failure after failure of its implementation either due to threats or parliamentary defeats. Collins however was prepared to negotiate from a position of some strength when it came to the crunch. Do you honestly think that Lloyd George and the others would have given a tinker's curse if Collins and the other delegates had gone to London cap in hand saying "please sir, I want Britain to give us a Free State." The point about Masada is that people are prepared to die for their country to ensure that it stays free.