The Executive Authority (External Relations) Act, 1936 was an enactment of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) in 1936. The Act was one of two passed suddenly to deal with the aftermath of the abdication of King Edward VIII as King of Ireland along with his other Commonwealth Realms. The Great Seal of the Irish Free State All state documents were stamped with the Seal from 1931. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; later The Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972) was King of Great Britain, Ireland, the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India from the death of his father, George V (1910–36), on 20... The designation King of Ireland has been used during three periods of Irish history. ... The Commonwealth Realms, shown in pink A Commonwealth Realm is any one of the sixteen sovereign states within the Commonwealth of Nations that recognise Elizabeth II as their respective monarch. ...

Background

The decision of King Edward to abdicate, over the refusal of his prime ministers throughout the British Commonwealth to accept his right to marry Wallis Simpson and remain on the throne, caused major problems for the President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State (prime minister), Eamon de Valera. De Valera had been systematically stripping the Irish Free State Constitution of all references to the king and crown. However the abdication left de Valera with a difficult problem: under a previous commonwealth conference decision, matters to do with the crown requiring legislation had to be legislated by each commonwealth state, unless the state requested that the United Kingdom legislate on the matter on its behalf. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Wallis, Duchess of Windsor and the Duke of Windsor on their wedding day Bessie Wallis Warfield, more widely known as Wallis Simpson and later The Duchess of Windsor (June 19, 1896–April 24, 1986) was the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII of the... The President of the Executive Council (Irish: Uachtaráin na hArd-Chomhairle) was the head of government or prime minister of the 1922-1937 Irish Free State, and the leader of the Executive Council (cabinet). ... Eamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, sometimes Gaelicised Éamon de Bhailéara; October 14, 1882 – August 29, 1975), was an Irish politician, best known as a leader of Irelands struggle for independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the early 20th century, and... The Constitution of the Irish Free State was the constitution of the southern Irish state established in December 1922. ...

That meant that the abdication of the King, to have validity in the Irish Free State, had either to be legislated for by the Oireachtas, or legislated for with the approval of the Irish Free State by the British Parliament. De Valera wanted neither to be seen to legislate for the crown nor to have to ask the British to do it for him.

The Two Acts

His solution was twofold. The Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act removed the crown and king from the constitution and apparently abolished the governor-generalship. That however became problematic, with de Valera's own Attorney-General James Geoghegan, the Secretary to the Executive Council Maurice Moynihan and the Parliamentary Draftsman's office all contradicting de Valera and insisted that the office had not been properly abolished. To clarify matters, in 1937 the Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937 retrospectively re-abolished the office and dealt with some financial provisions. The Constitution (Amendment No. ... James Geoghegan (1886-1951) was a senior Irish politician. ... The Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937 was an Act of the Oireachtas which retrospectively completed the abolition of the Governor-General of the Irish Free State. ...

The External Relations Act, 1936 was the second part of de Valera's legislative strategy. Having abolished the crown and the role of the king in constitutional law, one day later de Valera resurrected the king to fulfil the head of state role in external relations, by means of a statute law enactment. To enable the Free State to recognise the abdication, the instrument of abdication and the accession of King George VI was recognised in one of the Act's schedules. Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State of 16 countries including: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand and the Bahamas, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ... A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then be ratified by the highest executive in the government, and finally published. ... George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 11 December 1936 until his death. ...

The only functions left for the king to carry out were to

• sign Letters of Credence accrediting Irish ambassadors to other states;
• sign international treaties on Ireland's behalf.

These roles had both belonged to the king previously via the Free State constitution. A Letter of Credence is a formal letter sent by one head of state to another formally accrediting a named individual (usually but not always a diplomat) to be their ambassador in the country of the head of state receiving the letter of credence. ...

The External Relations Act remained even after the Irish Free State was replaced by Ireland, or Éire in the Irish language, (now also described or referred to as the Republic of Ireland) in December 1937, with the King of Ireland fulfilling the external affairs role that normally belongs to heads of state, with a new President of Ireland fulfilling an internal constitutional role. Map of Éire Éire (pronounced ) is the Irish name for Ireland. ... -1...

Repeal

In the late 1940s, de Valera decided to change the law, though whether it would involve the total repeal of the Act, or merely its amendment, was not decided when he lost power in 1948. His then Attorney-General, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh had been working on the various options when de Valera's Fianna Fáil administration was replaced by the First Inter-Party Government under Costello. In most common law jurisdictions, the Attorney General or Attorney-General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. ... Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (12 February 1911 – 21 March 1978) (pronounced karol o dawl-ie) served as fifth President of Ireland, from 1974 to 1976. ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (Irish: Fianna Fáil - An Páirtí Poblachtánach), commonly referred to as Fianna Fáil (IPA ; traditionally translated by the party into English as Soldiers of Destiny, though the actual meaning is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland[1]), is currently the largest political party... The 13th Dáil was elected on February 4, 1957 and first met on February 18 when the 5th Government of Ireland was appointed. ...

The Executive Authority (External Relations) Act, 1936 was finally repealed by the Republic of Ireland Act, 1948 which came into force on April 1, 1949. The new Act vested the powers possessed by the king in the president of Ireland. 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. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

External links

• Irish Statute Book
• Internet copy of Act as passed
• Constitution (Amendment No.27) Act
• Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act

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Executive	King of Ireland · Governor-General · President of the Executive Council · Vice-President of the Executive Council · Executive Council · Extern Minister · Ministers and Secretaries Act · His Majesty's Government in the Irish Free State Territory of the Irish Free State Capital Dublin Language(s) Irish, English Government Constitutional monarchy Monarch  - 1922–1936 George V  - 1936–1936 George VI President of the Executive Council  - 1922–1932 W.T. Cosgrave  - 1932–1937 Eamon de Valera Legislature Oireachtas  - Upper house Seanad Éireann  - Lower house Dáil Éireann... Signature page of the Anglo-Irish Treaty The Anglo-Irish Treaty, officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom and representatives of the extra-judicial Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of Independence. ... The Provisional Government of Southern Ireland was, in British law, the transitional government of Southern Ireland in 1922 from the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty to the creation of the Irish Free State. ... The Constitution of the Irish Free State was the constitution of the independent Irish state established in December 1922. ... This article is about the Statute of Westminster relating to the British Empire and its dominions. ... The Great Seal of the Irish Free State (Irish: Séala Mor do Shaorstát Éireann) was the official seal which replaced the Great Seal of the Realm used to seal official documents of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) by the Governor-General. ... King George V, the first monarch to reign in the Irish Free State. ... The designation King of Ireland has been used during three periods of Irish history. ... The Governor-General (Irish: Seanascal) was the representative of the King in the 1922–1937 Irish Free State. ... The President of the Executive Council (Irish: Uachtaráin na hArd-Chomhairle) was the head of government or prime minister of the 1922-1937 Irish Free State, and the leader of the Executive Council (cabinet). ... The Vice-President of the Executive Council (Irish: Leas-Uachtarán na hArd-Chomhairle) was the deputy head of government of the 1922-1937 Irish Free State, and the second most senior member of the Executive Council (cabinet). ... The Executive Council (Irish: Ard-Chomhairle) was the cabinet and de facto executive branch of government of the 1922-1937 Irish Free State. ... An Extern Minister was a Irish minister appointed by the Governor-General of the Irish Free State on the nomination of a committee of Dáil Éireann. ... The Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924 was one of the key statute laws enacted by the Irish Free State. ... His Majestys Government in the Irish Free State (HMGIFS) was the formal designation used by the Executive Council (cabinet) of the Irish Free State in formal correspondence it and the United Kingdom or other Commonwealth states. ...
Legislative	Oireachtas of the Irish Free State (made up of the King of Ireland, Dáil Éireann & Seanad Éireann) · Royal Assent · Ceann Comhairle · Cathaoirleach · Oath of Allegiance · Governor-General's Address to the Oireachtas Image File history File links Great Seal of the Irish Free State - fair use This work is copyrighted. ... The Great Seal of the Irish Free State All state documents were stamped with the Seal from 1931. ... The Dáil Chamber The chamber was remodelled in the early 1920s. ... The Seanad Chamber The Seanad meets in the former picture gallery in Leinster House. ... The Viceregal Lodge The residence of two of the three Irish governors-general. ... The Ceann Comhairle1 is the chairman or speaker of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland. ... Cathaoirleach (pronounced, ka-here-loch) is the title of the speaker of the sixty-member Irish upper house, Seanad Éireann (pronounced sch-anad air-inn). ... The Irish Oath of Allegiance was a controversial provision in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, which Irish TDs (members of the Irish parliament) and Senators were required to take, in order to take their seats in Dáil Éireann (The Chamber of Deputies) and Seanad Éireann (the Irish Senate). ... The Dáil chamber The Governor-General delivered his Address from the dias. ...
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General elections	1922 · 1923 · 1927 (June) · 1927 (Sept) · 1932 · 1933 · 1937 A general election took place in southern Ireland in 16 June 1922 under the provisions of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty to elect a constituent assembly paving the way for the establishment of the Irish Free State. ... The Irish general election of 1923 was held on August 27, 1923. ... The Irish general election of June 1927 was held on June 9, 1927. ... The Irish general election of September 1927 was held on September 15, 1927. ... The Irish general election of 1932 was held on February 16, 1932, just over two weeks after the dissolution of the 6th Dáil on January 29. ... The Irish general election of 1933 was held on January 24, 1933. ... See also: Government of the 9th Dáil Categories: Elections in Ireland | 1937 ...
See also	External Relations Act · Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act · Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act The Executive Authority (External Relations) Act, 1936 was an enactment of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) in 1936. ... The Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937 was an Act of the Oireachtas which retrospectively completed the abolition of the Governor-General of the Irish Free State. ... The Constitution (Amendment No. ...