Irish Free State
Ireland, 1922–1937. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Irish Free State was the Irish state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921, initially as a Dominion. It comprised 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland. Northern Ireland, which was made up of the remaining six counties, exercised its right under the Treaty to opt out of the new state. The Free State came to an end with the coming into force of the new constitution on 29 December 1937, when the state took the name "Ireland".
Seat of power: Dublin
Rulers
Timothy Michael Healy
Governor-General of the Irish Free State, 1922–1928
Timothy Michael Healy was appointed as the first governor-general of the Irish Free State. The office of Governor-General of the Irish Free State was a new office representative of the Crown created in the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. Healy officially entered office as Governor-General on 6 December 1922.
Portrait of Timothy Michael Healy: Bain News Service, publisher., Public domain, file
James McNeill
Governor-General of the Irish Free State, 1928–1932
James McNeill was appointed by King George V as Governor-General of the Irish Free State. When Éamon de Valera was nominated as President of the Executive Council in 1932, McNeill opted to travel to Leinster House to appoint de Valera, rather than require that he go to the Viceregal Lodge, to avoid embarrassing de Valera, who was a republican.
Portrait of James McNeill: Sarah Purser, Public domain, file
Domhnall Ua Buachalla
Governor-General of the Irish Free State, 1932–1936
Domhnall Ua Buachalla was chosen by Éamon de Valera to become Governor-General of the Irish Free State following James McNeill's resignation in November 1932. De Valera explicitly instructed Ua Buachalla as Governor-General to keep a low public profile, and not to fulfil public engagements, which was part of de Valera's policy to make the office an irrelevance by reducing it to invisibility. On de Valera's instruction, Ua Buachalla did not reside in the official residence of the Governor-General, the Viceregal Lodge.
Portrait of Domhnall Ua Buachalla: British Pathé, Public domain, file
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Culture
- Irish society during this period was extremely Roman Catholic, with Roman Catholic thinkers promoting anti-capitalist, anti-communist, anti-Protestant, anti-Masonic, and antisemitic views in Irish society.
- Members of the Dáil were required to take an Oath of Allegiance to the Constitution of the Free State and to declare fidelity to the king. The oath was a key issue for opponents of the Treaty, who refused to take it and therefore did not take their seats.
Picture
The General Post Office is one of Ireland's most famous buildings, not least because it served as the headquarters of the leaders of the Easter Rising against British rule in Ireland.
Image: NateBergin, CC BY 4.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.