From Irish Free State to Éire

Irish Free State Establishment

Irish Free State was established in 1922 following the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
It signified the partition of Ireland into two entities: Southern Ireland became the Irish Free State (later named Éire and finally the Republic of Ireland) and Northern Ireland.

The treaty’s terms dictated that the Irish Free State would be a dominion of the British Commonwealth, similar to Canada, Australia, and South Africa.
It was given its own parliament (Dáil Éireann) and retained the monarch as its head of state.
The government was led by a Governor General, who represented the British monarch in Ireland.
The Government of Ireland Act (1920) allowed Northern Ireland the option to leave the Free State within a month’s period, which it did.

The treaty split the Irish Republican movement; those who opposed the treaty saw it as a betrayal of the Irish Republic declared in 1916.
This led to a bloody Irish Civil War between the pro-Treaty government and anti-Treaty republicans, which lasted from 1922 until 1923.

The Irish Free State began distancing itself from British control in the 1930s under the leadership of Eamon de Valera, who sought to end the Irish Free State status.
De Valera’s government introduced a new constitution in 1937, transforming the Irish Free State into Éire or Ireland. The constitution describe Ireland as a “sovereign, independent, democratic state.”
The constitution was approved in a national plebiscite in July 1937 and put into operation on 29th December of the same year.

The change from Irish Free State to Éire was one of the steps towards a Republic and strained relations with Britain.
The British government objected to the use of the term “Ireland” and continued to refer to the nation as “Eire” until the Republic was officially declared in 1949.
During WWII, Éire remained neutral, a decision that further strained relations with Britain.

The establishment of the Irish Free State and its subsequent transition to the Republic of Ireland, often led to heightened tension in Northern Ireland due to ongoing Unionist/Nationalist divisions.
Many in Northern Ireland felt insecure with the changes in the South and feared that their Protestant and British identity was under threat.