A note
on the Irish Free State
It is worth noting that by the time these words were recorded in
Martin Glynn's memorial service, nearly three years had passed since
the founding of the Irish Free State. Unhappily, the early years of
the new nation's history were uneasy, at best. Eamon de Valera and
his followers, whom Glynn had represented in his discussions with
British Prime Minister Lloyd George, had yet to accept the terms under
which the Free State was established. In effect, Ireland had been
granted "Dominion" status like that enjoyed by Canada. Among
other things, this meant that its elected leaders were required to
swear allegiance to the British monarch, something de Valera and the
Republicans refused to do.
The treaty that created the Free State also contained provisions
that virtually guaranteed the existence of a separate government in
Northern Ireland. Again, de Valera and his followers objected. As
a result, even though de Valera and the Republicans had won a significant
number of seats in the Free State's legislature (the Dáil),
they boycotted the government and refused to participate in its proceedings.
It was not until 1927 that his party consented to sign the oath of
allegiance "as an empty political formula" and assumed their
seats in the legislature.
By 1933 the Republicans were in the majority and de Valera was Prime
Minister. Under his leadership the government took a number of steps
designed to cut the ties with Great Britain. This lead, in 1937, to
the enactment of a new constitution which abolished the Irish Free
State and established the new "sovereign state" of Éire.
Although the new constitution made no reference to Great Britain or
the Commonwealth of Nations, there was no formal break, either. It
was not until 1948 that the Irish legislature enacted the Republic
of Ireland Bill, creating -- effective April 18, 1949 -- the Republic
of Ireland, formally free of allegiance to the crown or commonwealth
of Great Britain. Tragically, the status of Northern Ireland remains
unresolved to this day.
For more detailed information see The
Liberation of Ireland (an external web site).
