Today is the shortest day in the year, but the 21st of December also marks the anniversary of the Republic of Ireland Act which repealed the External Relations Act and took Ireland out of the Commonwealth. Course it was just an Act, and Ireland wasn’t formally declared a republic until the following year (on the 18th April 1949).
The Treaty[1] was signed in 1921, approved by Dáil Éireann in 1922, and the civil war ended in 1923. Ireland got a new constitution in 1937, but it wasn’t until 1948 that we took that last step and became a republic.[2] That is 27 years between the treaty and the establishment of the republic. Quite a spell.
Why did it take so long? Well some people say that DeV didn’t want to declare a republic with just the 26 counties as that would mean partition was really real, as opposed to just real for a while.
And does did the declaration of an Irish Republic mean that Michael Collins was right in his interpretation that the Treaty, while not freedom, gave the country the freedom to achieve freedom[3] that it was a stepping stone on the way?
- In Ireland we don’t need to call it the Anglo-Irish treaty or Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland because everyone will know what you mean when you say The Treaty ↩
- yes, there are those that would say we still have one more step to go, but you all can just hush. ↩
- Wikipedia ↩
Of course mick was right. duh.
Not if you are a person who believes that we aren't free because of partition and NI.
And why, when you comment from work does the link to your website have a billion https and so not work?
Northern Ireland is a figment. It is unimportant and I do not regard it.
It was one of the most inept, stupid and moronic things ever done in this country – leaving the Commonwealth that is. It led to the British bringing about the Ireland Act which ended the last official link between north and south.
I don't believe Collins would have supported it.
Nothing has been really achieved until the national territory is once again reunited. North and south!