Republic of Ireland Act
The
Republic of Ireland Act was an enactment of
Oireachtas Éireann passed in
1948, which came into force on
April 18,
1949 and which declared that the official description of Ireland was to be the
Republic of Ireland. It officially made Ireland a
republic and marked its exit from the
Commonwealth.
Between 1922 and 1937, the 26 county Irish state was technically a British
dominion known as the
Irish Free State. In 1937, a new
constitution was introduced which renamed the twenty-six county state '
Éire, or in the English language,
Ireland '. (Article 4 of the constitution,
Bunreacht na hÉireann.) The official description of the state is
Republic of Ireland, according to
The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948, which came into effect on Easter Monday,
April 18,
1949. A change of name would have necessitated a constitutional amendment and referendum. The Act itself is quite short, running to just 5 brief sections and is therefore easy to quote in full.
Number 22 of 1948
The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948
An act to repeal the Executive Authority (external relations) Act 1936, to declare that the description of the state shall be the Republic of Ireland, and to enable the President to exercise the executive power of any executive function of the state in or in connection with its external relations. (
21 December,
1948)
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:-
# The Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 (No.58 of 1936) is hereby repealed.:# It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland.:# The President, on the authority and on the advice of the Government, may exercise the executive power or any executive function of the State in or in connection with its external relations.:# This Act shall come into operation on such day as the Government may by order appoint.:# This Act may be cited as The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948.
This ended the difficult period of transition from
British rule to the Republic. The
Irish Civil War had been fought in 1922–23 was over conflicting definitions of Irish independence and the extent to which it was a reality under the
Anglo-Irish Treaty. The
Oath of Allegiance, the theoretical cause of the split, was a symbol of the wider debate.
The Act repealed the
External Relations Act, 1936. Under that Act, King
George VI as
King of Ireland acted as the Irish head of state in international relations. He accredited ambassadors and on Ireland's behalf accepted
credentials appointing foreign ambassadors to Ireland. The
Republic of Ireland Act removed this role (the last remaining role) from the King and vested instead in the
President of Ireland, making the then President of Ireland,
Sean T. O'Kelly unambiguously the Irish head of state.
The Republic of Ireland Act amounted to a final declaration of an Irish republic. Irish membership of the
Commonwealth of Nations automatically lapsed and necessitated the introduction of the
Ireland Act 1949 by
Westminster. The then government, under
John A. Costello opted not to reapply for membership, although at the time, membership was dependent on allegiance to the British Crown until
India became a republic within the Commonwealth in 1950. This decision was criticised by then Leader of the Opposition
Eamon de Valera, who considered applying for membership in the 1950s. (De Valera's grandson,
Éamon Ã" CuÃv, now an Irish government minister, in the 1990s again advocated Irish membership of the Commonwealth.)
In the 1990s the
All Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution considered amending
Bunreacht na hÉireann to mention that Ireland is a republic. It decided against, eventually. This was the second time that such an amendment was considered by committee.
