In "The Aftermath", Winston Churchill gives an account of the first meeting of Éamon de Valera with David Lloyd George on 14 July 1921, at which he was present. Lloyd George was a native speaker of Welsh and a noted Welsh linguist, and as such was interested in the literal meaning of 'Saorstát'. De Valera replied that it meant 'Free State'. Lloyd George asked, "What is your Irish word for Republic?" After some delay and no reply, Lloyd George commented: "Must we not admit that the Celts never were Republicans and have no native word for such an idea?"