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. The Oireachtas is the National Parliament of the Republic of Ireland1. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... In a broad definition, a republic is a state whose political organization rests on the principle that the citizens or electorate constitute the ultimate root of legitimacy and sovereignty. ... // Definition and linguistics The original phrase common wealth or the common weal is a calque translation of the Latin term res publica (public matters), from which the word republic comes, which was itself used as a synonym for the greek politeia as well as for the republican (i. ...

The Act

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. 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... A Dominion is a wholly self-governing or virtually self-governing state of the British Empire or British Commonwealth, particularly one which reached that stage of constitutional development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries such as Canada and New Zealand. ... The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo-Irish Treaty) signed by British... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Constitution of Ireland is the founding legal document of the state known today as the Republic of Ireland. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ...

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. (21st December, 1948)

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:-

1. The Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 (No.58 of 1936) is hereby repealed.
2. It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland.
3. 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.
4. This Act shall come into operation on such day as the Government may by order appoint.
5. 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. December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Irish Civil War (June 1922–April 1923) was a conflict between supporters and opponents of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 6, 1921, which established the Irish Free State, precursor of todays Republic of Ireland. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Signature page of the Anglo-Irish Treaty The Anglo-Irish Treaty, officially called the Articles of association between Ireland and the British Empire, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom and representatives of the (extra-judicial) Irish Republic which concluded the Anglo-Irish War. ... 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). ...

External Relations Act, 1936

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 Executive Authority (External Relations) Act, 1936 was an enactment of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) in 1936. ... George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor) (14 December 1895–6 February 1952) was the third British monarch of the House of Windsor, reigning from 11 December 1936 until his death. ... Henry VIII, became King of Ireland in 1542. ... 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 President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland. ... Sean Thomas OKelly (Irish name: Seán Tomás Ó Ceallaigh, (August 25, 1882 - November 23, 1966) was the second President of Ireland (1945-1959). ...

The Republic

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 criticised by then Leader of the Opposition Eamon de Valera, who considered applying for membership in the 1950s. (De Valera's grandson, Éamon Ó Cuív, now an Irish government minister, in the 1990s again advocated Irish membership of the Commonwealth.) The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. ... The Ireland Act 1949 is a UK Act of Parliament which was intended to deal with the consequences of the then recently passed Republic of Ireland Act 1948 as passed by the Irish parliament (Oireachtas). ... Westminster is a district within the City of Westminster in London. ... John Aloysius Costello (20 June 1891 - 5 January 1976), a successful barrister, was one of the main legal advisors to the government of the Irish Free State after independence, Attorney-General of Ireland from 1926-1932 and Taoiseach from 1948-1951 and 1954-1957. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Éamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, sometimes Gaelicised Éamonn 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 in the early 20th Century, and the Republican anti-Treaty opposition... // Events and trends This map shows two essential global spheres during the Cold War in 1959. ... Éamon Ó Cuív (born June 1950) is a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician and is currently the Minister for Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs. ... The 1990s refers to the years 1990 to 1999; the last decade of the 20th Century, but in an economical sense The Nineties is often considered to span from the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 to the September 11 attacks in 2001. ...

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. The Constitution of Ireland is the founding legal document of the state known today as the Republic of Ireland. ...

Major laws affecting Ireland's constitutional structures
Poyning's Law (1492) | Grattan's constitution (1782) | Act of Union (1800) | Catholic Relief Act (1829) | Irish Church Disestablishment Act (1869, implemented 1871) | Irish Land Act (1881) | Third Home Rule Act (1914) | Representation of the People Act (1918) | Dáil Constitution (1919) | Government of Ireland Act (1920) | & Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921) | Irish Free State Constitution (1922) | Ministers and Secretaries Act (1924) | Courts of Justice Act (1924) | Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act (1927) | Statutes of Westminster (1931) | External Relations Act (1936) | Bunreacht na hÉireann (1937) | Republic of Ireland Act (1948, implemented 1949) | European Constitution ratification by Ireland on hold.
Flag meanings: = Kingdom of Ireland = United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland = Irish Republic, Irish Free State, or Republic of Ireland. = Commonwealth of Nations enactment impacting on Ireland. = European Union law.