Irish History Synopsis: The De Valera Era 1932-1939

Irish History Synopsis: The De Valera Era 1932-1939

On being sworne in to office as President of the Executive Council of the newly elected Dial of 1932 Eamon deValera immediately released all the interenees from the southern prison where they had been held by Cosgraves Emergency Powers at Arbor Hill Barracks.

The draconian Public Safety Bill of 1931 was revoked.

The Oath of Allegiance to the King of England was abolished but met with opposition from the Seanad. Having been introduced on April 20 1932, the bill did not become law until May 1933 a year later.

De Valera dismissed the Kings Govenor General, James Mc Neill in October of 1932.
The Crown appointed Donnall Ua Buachalla who acted only as a rubber stamp and did not live in the Vice Regal Lodge which was vacant until the Republic was formed in 1948 when it was than reopened for the President of Ireland De Valera. The Govornor General salary was reduced by the Executive Council from 28,000 pounds a year to 2000 pounds a year.

Formality was dispensed with in the new government, the Mininsters appearing at state funtions dressed casually.

Tarrifs were imposed by England when de Valera refused to pay the land anuities in July 1932 when Ireland defalted.

The anuity payments arose when the Land Acts of 1891-1909 allowed the British state to buy out landowners and the properties so acquired distributed to the Irish peasant tenants.
These new owners paid what were termed land annuities collected by the British for interest charges on government stock issued to the landlords at 3% interest.

Under Cosgrave's Cumman these land annuities had been paid to the British National Department by terms of the British and Irish Financial Agreements of February 1923.

These agreements had not be submitted or ratified by any of the Dials but acted as a private agreement between the Executive Council, Cosgrave and the British Government Comissioners.

Within a fortnight of these withholdings of money by the Irish government under Fianna Fail, Britain imposed a 20% tarrif on all trade and agricultural exports to which de Valera, who relished a self sufficient rural independant republic parried with his own high tarriff on British manufacture.

De Valera stated his policy was to abolish free trade.

He tried, somwhat sucessfully in the end, to create a native industry in Ireland.
Private investment however was not to be found.
The State was therfore forced to create and contunue the State corporations begun with the Shannon Project under the Cumman na n Gaedheal.

House building, provision of services, fuel preparation air services all came under the state corporate creation.

The Housing Act of 1932 brought central government into local athorities policies amounting to a public works project policy.

The Bord of Mona was created.
Aer lingus was created as a state corporation which it remains today.
An Irish Sugar Company was created.

With the Emergency Importation Duty Act of 1932, 2000 goods were covered by some import or export duty.

De Valera planned to build a native capital system by creating Irish business and clearing the Irish market of all foreign goods.

To do this a Control of Manufacture Act was passed in 1932 and an ensuing one in 1934.
These acts established licencing by the state to prevent foreign companies from establishing in Ireland to avoid the duty impostion.

Foreign capital was to be only 50% and company directors had to be Irish.

A Finacial Act f 1932 gave a preference rate of tax to Irish business and an indirect tax to reduce industry tax.

An Industrial Credit Corporation was forned for native capitalists.
Cement was createdt his way to become an Irish monopoly.

In 1932 there were 160 Irish companies up from 115 in 1926, a hight being reached in 1935 of 247 with native capital investments over 1 million pounds.

Some of the major company products developed were in manufacturing of boots and shoes, hoisery, leather, sugar ,linin collars , hemp, paper making and clothing.
All of these items of manufacture were nationally deficient in the average Irish houselhold.
The particular notablity of shoelessness among workers soldiers and children alike in pre- rising days, along with suits of clothing for men being outgrown and ladies worn frocks were colorless.
Coats were hardly known; the populous photographed under shawls and blankets.

De Valera himself rode about the streets on a white horse with a black cloak ,with his spare frame and sharp stark features appearing the devil himself.

During 1932 Cumman na n Gaedheal suffered somewaht from FF vendetta Actions because of the Cosgrave government executions and internment of friends, relatives and comrades of the anti treaty forces.

Political meetings were broken up by dissidents on the new side when de Valera refused to purge the 'Staters' from the army, police and civil service.
This created a reactionaly force of the Army Comrade Association in August '32 by Liam O Higgins brother of Kevin.
The IRA considered the organization fascist and the ACA considered the IRA comministic.

These two compeating philosofic views from the left and the right clashed repeatdly.

One instance by the December '32 dumping of a truck[lorry] load of Bass Engish ale.
The ale was poured in the street and the barrels burned by some dissident IRA to support the economic policy of Fiana Fail government.
The peope however looked with disfavor on this waste of drink.
The importers appealed to the ACA for protection ,which was a malitia of 30,000 men on the right.

De Valera fired General Eoin O Duffy from his Commissioner of Dublin police for incompetence on February 22 1933.
Cumman na Gaedheal decided to reorganize the ACA and appointed O Duffy its leader in April 1933.
With this event the ACA became the National Guard and adopted a Blue Shirt as an identity badge at the suggestion of Ned Cronin who had married Michael Collins fiance Kitty Kiernan.

In 1933 the appeal right of Irish law to the British Privy Council was abolished.

pg 2 de Valera 32

In September 1933 Cumman na n Gaedheal and the new Center Party merged and were now called United Ireland Party or Fine Gael (tribe of the Gael)
Cosgrave became its leader.
Dillon and MacDermot of the Center Party his assistants.
The national leadership of the new party was given over to General Eoin O Duffy.
He was well known in Ireland as a military leader ,a sports organizer and bycyclist.

Fine Gael professed the voluntary reunion of all Ireland without giving up Irish sovereignty or Commonwelath status.
They were opposed to proportional representation and were for agricultural and industrial corporations.

When O Duffy made a show of streanth on August 13 1934 that he would hold a National Guard march to government buildings for a wreath laying in memory of Griffith,Collins and O Higgins, the Fianna Fail government, distrusting his motives, and aware how Mussolini had become Il Duce, revived the 1931 Public Safety Act and set up an S Division[an armed band of Garda composed of former IRA anti treaty personnel] also called the Broy Harriers.

The government revived the Military Tribunal and banned the parade.
The IRA backed the action and the parade was not held.

The National Guard then changed its name to Young Ireland which was banned.
It than became the League of Youth after a clash with the IRA.
Both organizations than split by internal disputes relieving the potential threat to the State by violence.

De Valera had after 10 months in office, held a snap election to uphold his repressive actions and give him a mandate from the people.

In 1933 an Unemployment Insurance Act was passed ,mostly putting men to work building houses.
Some automobiles were now being used in the country some 4,000 being licenced.

But the crowning improvement in Irish life in 1933 was the inseption of radio.

De Valera, like Roosevelt was highly aware of the political power of radio.

The Athlone high powered station brought radio transmission to the whole island in 1933.

By 1937 100,000 licence for the wireless sevice had been purchased through the Post Office.
However 25,000 were found to have pirated the signal.
The major useage of radio remained in urban areas such as Dublin very little in rural areas and on small farms.

De Valera persued his vision of the small farm representing the purity of life, the Gaelic way of life, with the country comprised of frugal God fearing county folk.

Immigration remained high 6 out of 1000 persons leaving Ireland to work in England or the US.
Many went to England as the US established quotas in the 30's in responce to its own depression joblessness.


In the process of creating a people who valued material welth only on the basis of right living, the FF government accepted and followed the Catholic social teaching as laid out by Pope Pius XI in his Quadragesino Anno of May 1931 which expressed the upholding of the family as thebasic unit of society and the Catholic education of youth.

As most of the government leaders had been excommunicated by the Church for their membership in the IRA and defiance of authority through physical force and their participation in the Civil War they were anxious to reestablish both personal relations and governmental workings with the Church.

The doctrine proported by Musssolini in Italy of the exclusive right of the State and the Coorporation was not entirely encorporated into Irish thought.

The Fianna Fail members were more ameniable to socialist doctrine of Connolly and Liam Mellows visioning not only a 32 county Republic but a socialist state.

An Phoblact their newspaper ,voiced a demand that the banks be taken over by the state and the large ranch farms be broken up.

This was part of the struggle in Ireland to abolish imperial capitalism and a reflection of the general Europeand style on mass conditions of life.
Arguements were being made for corporatism, socialism, fascism, imperialism, captalism and the general political rights of Man.
The Blue Shirt members themselves upheld thr right of free speech and the end of lassez faire economics.

As the FFgovernment had difficulty collecting the land annuities from the individual land owners theybegan a program of cattle seizing from defaulting farmers.

FF held that these collectionswere for use by the Irish governmentand were not making the 6 months payments to England.
The Blue Shirts oppossed this catttle confiscation and raided auction yards such as Marshes in Cork to run of the cattle preventing their conversion to cash.
This physical force cattle preying by both the sitting government and the loyal opposition caused much exitement in the country side.

On August 1 1934 a pension was offered for Irregular veterans who has fought on the anti treaty side.
This helped amorilate the IR battalions.-


A split occurred in the general Irregulars in 1934 between those adhearing to the 1st Dial of 1919and those adherants to a socialist republic.
These forced the founding of Republican Congress Party formed by Pedar O Donnell and George Gilmore in April 1933.
This new Irish socialist workers party however lasted only 2 years splitting after only 6 months of its formation.
The Congress was expelled from the IRA and expressed anti fascism, anti imperialism, anti
Fiana Fail, anti Cosgrave.
Some of its foundign membrs were also members of the Cosgrave era breakway Saor Erie Executive such as the Price girls, McGuinnes, Marie Lavery, George Gilmore and Pedar O Donnell.
The Congress was upheld by the ITGWU [ Irish Transport and General Workers Union] under thevice presidency of Willian Mc Mullen
Saor Eire had been formed during the Cosgrave era with intent to Free Ireland which was suppressed by the Public Safetly Act of 1931 after been declared a communist organization by the Hierarachy.


The Fiana Fail was able to get along with the Labor Party however buildiing a successful group of beneficial Acts in relation to creating Ireland a self sufficient independant state.
Encorporating such progressive ideas as state subsidys for social needs such as public works projects, public housing, farm subsidies, unemployment benefits such as were also being implimented in the US under the Roosevelt Administration's New Deal.

Fianna Fail absorbed the old Cosgrave programs of standardization and regulation of export products and the idea of State Corporations were created in the Bord of Electrictiy Shannon Project,Aer Lingus sugar beets and other national needs.
It was able to produce some Irish capitalism and achieve a standard although not yet sustainable wage for workers.

The big labor unions in Ireland such as the old pre -rising ITGWU were in geneneral good relations with the ruling party government.

FF was able to extend the Trade Bord industies covered by minimum wages and allowed the Irish /Congress of Trade unions to represent non union workers in the trades.

FF established Joint Industrial Councils under Department of Labor where union and employee representatives hashed out differences and came to agreement as to wages and woking conditions.

The Irish Womens Workers Union under Helen Molloy however critisized the Joint Council for setting low wage rates for womena and juvenile workers sweeping these workers into a 'slave labor class' while the 'patriot' elite of labor claimed more profit off them.
A condition of the Employment Act was passed by the Dail in 1935 which limited working hours to 48 for adults and 40 for juveniles.
It also provided registration with the state of agreements arrived at by collective bargaining.
The Minister of Commerce and Industry Sean Lemass argued the new act was compensaion to the trades by the state to improve working conditions
.
Relations between the FF and its civil service however were not as cooperative as the party felt civil servants had a duty to make 'sacrfices' and that no union or outside force could influence the relationsip beteenn mininster and his servants.


FF also begrudges relief worker payments to be paid the same rates as their contempory workers deaming a rate below that of agricultural workers sufficient no matter how skilled the worker or the job.



pg 3 de valera


In 1935 the ITGWU struck the dublin trams breaking the friend of unions relationship between FF and he Union.
The workers demanded a higher wage.

Lemass denounced the strike and the Irish Cabininte and Mininster decided to send in the Irish Army.
The IRA intervened.
47 Republicans were arrested by Fianna Fail and sent to the Currah Military Detention Center as internees.
Detectives at the government broke into union hall strike meetings disperced the strikers and searched the premisis.

The ITGWU reported tht they were fighing the combined forces of the company, the Mininsters and the apparatus of the state.
Solidarity was the result with 10,000 trade unionists marching in support of the tram strikers.
In mid May a small wage increase was meeted out and the strike peetered out.
Strikes however continued with 1937 being a peak year 26,000 workers on strike and 1,750,000 work days lost.

The Censorship Act and its industrious board continued its purifying work throughout the 30's.
The national writers such as Frank O Connor, Liam O Flaherty, Mary Lavin and Sean O Faolain all veterans in the fight for independance found their works banned in Ireland by the censors.

O Faolain, an avid spokeman for the release of Ireland from her torturerous mediocrity discribed the country as shrouded in snow ' under the white shroud covering the whole of Ireland, life was lying broken and hardly breathing.'

James Joyce had left Dublin to write his Finnagans Wake in Paris and in 1938 W B Yeats left his native Ireland for the last time after his play Purgatory had produced a flurry.
Denis Devlin, Brian Coffey, Samuel Beckett, Thomas Mac Greevy all gathered in pre war Paris disallusioned and unloved by their own Irish society.

At this same juncture with the suppression of Irish literary creativity, Irish traditional music was elevated to affluent appreciation.
It rated in acceptance only below the Gaelic language. The folk music expressed the Irish mind.

Irish folklore was accepted and an Irish Folklore Commission Cumman le Bealoideas Eireann recieved a government grant to create the Irish Folklore Institute.
The Commission ,in the mid and early 30's and at the last moment before change overtook the country side, gathered vast stores of folklore, folktales held by the people in memory.

The Irish Manuscript Commission established under Cosgrave in 1928, located ,preserved and published these writings in a periodical, Analecta Hibernica.
With the coming of the Irish Historical Studies Periodical in 1938. a focus in disaplined academic research of Ireland history took hold.
Although some 1200 books were banned in Ireland between 1930 and 1939 some light resistance was mounted by such agents as the Irish Times.
Eamon de Valera abhored the Cinema as well which had so strongly influenced American thought and culture.

The Headmaster of Blackrock College, Charles McQuaid had fixed a highly Catholic conservative viewpoint with FF leader de Valera.
McQuaid had been Headmaster of the Dublin secondary school Blackrock College attended by Eamon and also his sons in coming years.
McQuaid was a key intercediary between deValera's government and the ideas requested by the Catholic Hierirchy.
The Church was dutifly left in contro of the pre established Westmininster mode and Cumman na n Gaedheal wherby denominational education was not secularly funded by the state nor were any secular education provided for.

The Church still controlled in its vice like grip the formative years of a childs learning process.

The bishops often requested of the governement measures which were not denied these, such as setting up a teaching hospital for medical students at University College as the prodistant hospital already had.
The National Maternity hospital was so accomidated to be run on strickly Catholic lines.

When the National Broadcasting director was appointed McQuaid requested a discussion informaly.
The question of authority between Church and State was arrived at in these informal secretive sessions where the Church was involved in the decision making of the State, creating an ethos of a' Catholic State for Catholic People 'countered by the words of PM Craig of the Norhtern state of ' Prodistant State for a Prodistant People.'

Fianna Fail however, in return for its Church teaching concessions .demanded the Hierarchy uphold the Republican State and weaken its previous ties with Cumman na n Gaedheal's rightist conservative corporate views.

FF encouraged the Church to uphold respect for law and authority, the Church and
State holding a shared responsibility for disapline of both temporal and spiritual authority.
This endevor was ultimately incorporated in 1937 into the revised new Irish Constitution in allowing a special position to the Catholic Church and embedding Catholic Social teaching into the basic law of the land such as the 1935 outlaw of useage, sale or teching the use of, contraceptives on the request of the Bishops.

pg 4 de valera

In the northern 6 counties now completely detached in culture and economic association, removed in the firm repressive grip of the all powerful Unionist Party under James Craig who was Prime Mininster from 1921 - 1940.
Native Irish[the catholics] were systematically excluded from political office or parliament.
They were systematically dnied housing and employment.
In the north hevy industry in Belfast provided jobs for prodistants allowing them power over the 40% catholic population.
Livestock, dairy, potatoes and cereal crops were all exported to the sister island Great Britain.
Shipbuilding and linen trades with paper making and furniture making confirmed a healthy economy for the 2/3 prodistant majority.
1/3 were the Church of Ireland and 1/3 Presbyterian dissentors.
The last 1/3 being native catholics outcast in their own country.
The border customs and general disruption of roads and transport faclilities created border violence.
There were ethnic and political confrontations in many places, mostly in Belfast.

The unionist governement passed acts to keep order ,maintained an abnormally large police force in the RUC with a B Special auxiliary force and a complete regiment of soldiers known as the Ulster Regiment attached to the British Army. All soldiers being prodistant and most police.
Catholics who dared to join the RUC were often drummed out or if they did not leave from abuse were never promoted and treated with indignities.

The schools were systematically segregated by the two churches inculcating the formative mind with denominational righteousness and doing nothing to alliviate fear and hostility or separateness of these young children.

Although higher education was readily available for prodistant children , such facilities as Queens University in Belfast established in 1845 by the Victorian Lord Lieutenant of Ireland beforePartition was an issue.
Catholic children were not admitted leaving generations of youth poorly and secularly educated without any hope for future sucess in their own land.

Emmigration centered mostly now to England where they were already considered citizens the Free State government having neglected to include the countryless Irish of the north as Irish People.

The Unionist Party continued to shape the north exclusivly in its own image.
The north was an autonomous state with a federal relationship to the United Kingdom.
There was no cooperative effort on any Island funtions such as energy, fisherys, railways or trade even thought the Free State and Erie claimed the territory.
Both the Free State and the British were willing to let sleeping dogs lie as far as the 6 counties were conserned.

Violence was a way of life in the north. In resisting home rule before partition, during the Great War and after with periodic sectarian outbreks between the native and settler factions or the IRA and RUC forces.

The Catholic 40% of the new state never accepted partition, boycotting the new parliament where they were not welcome anyway.

That parliament assembled in its new model Stormont Castle Bldg ,east of Belfast City, maintained its self interest with over dependence on Westmininster finances in which rates were collected in the new state, forwarded to the Exchecher in England and than returned to Stormont with additional supplimental funds supplied by the British Treasury to maintain government services.

The traditional industries shipbuilding and linen ,were deteriorating and the governemnt was dominated by intrests of the large landed farmers, all prodistant estate holders and conservative business interests ,again all prodistants.
All these governemnt members and conservative persons were members of the Orange Order which was a private society formed in 1895 out of the Diamond confrontation by a Wilson of Armagh. to uphold the prodistant religion over papist views and expressing deep dispise ofthe native peoples.

This smothering one sided ,narrow structure keeping the native Irish poverty riddeen, uneducated, deprived and excluded required conformity with no objection by either the creator.,the British Parliament or the new Free State in the south.
The world in general forgot about the Irish of the north who were not even taught their own Ulster history in their catholic schools but British history, British literature and British culture.
Their ancient family structure was set array by emmigration to find survival work, fear of reprisals for being Irish.
They were thought of by the more prosperous unionist prodistant neighbors as untrustworthy, stupid ,lazy often drunk and ditry. Of the dirtyness arising from worn and patched or used clothes and shoelessness.

Nor were the cabin/cottage houses and farms neatly sculptured and well kept as the prodistant homestead-all work there having been done by the Irish help- and therefore this north native was considered less industrious than his settler counterpart in the keeping of this now owned small property or livestock.

The native was never included in festivities of the town and settlements of the unionist but expected to provide his own superstitious and primative entertainments ,which he well did at local fairs and pubs,
creating a body of ballads and stories passed about at these occations from community to community.
The pub, as in the south became the gathering place of people seeking human companionship and conducting local business.
The Pub was not only a general store of what goods could be store bought but a place to hear and transmit the news of the community, the church, the world and the nation.
The publican also being a person having a little cash from the business was a provider of small loans and credit to the native who might need financing for some farm project or to emegrate a grown son to England to look for work.

There were frequent skirmishes along the 1400 mile border between customs agents and smugglers of such items as butter and fuel, cigarettes and wiskey.

The northern division of the IRA maintained its presence and civilain loyalty.

Thecustomary letter to America for the realtive begain with 'we are all keping well here and so and so died just this past winter'
None of these missives seem to have survived for some reason.
My own mothers letters to my grandmother alledgedly burned by her daughter after the old womans death.
Those in America having 'disapeared'.

Through this period of the Free State under the Cumman na nGaedh or de Valera's Fianna Fail no effort was made to connect with the Irish people of the north.
If an effort was made it was through the existing IRA structure.
The matter of the reunification of the island was dead in the water throughout the public spectrum both north and south.

Bigotry and notions of superiority and inferiority were encouraged by both the school systems and such societys as the Orange Order.
Courts were unjust in rulings for native causes nor were any chosen as judges.
Civil rights were decidedly one sided favoring the prodistant individual.

Any sign of disrespectful or defiant behavior was immediately quelshed and punished.

This long term supression of humanity finally exploded en mass in 1969 when the north erupted in defiance of these Stormont/Orange masters a condition which lasted some 30 years, its root cause lost onthe world and its own emmigree peoples.

The history and lore of this 30's period in the north is not readlily available, if available at all in such major fact finding standard sources as Britanica, Facts on File ,even google which has everything has subhumed these pre world war 2 trials of this people to the more exiting 70-2000 period.


page 5 de valera

Un 1936 the Irish Senate was abolished by deValera when it obsructed a Fiana Fail reform package.

In June 1936 the country was outrages by the IRA killing of a former member John Egan at Dungavan , a young man who allegedly had refused to participate in the Somerville killing. Admiral Someville of Cork was shot for advising anyone who asked about joining the British Army.

The IRA was declared an lnlawful organization and its chief of Staff, Maurince Twomey arrested and sent to prison.

This was closely followed by the Spanish Civil War in which 200 repbulicans took part on the Republican side while 700 of Duffys men went to defend Francos fascists and the Catholic church.

The IRA contingent fought at the battle of Lopera at which ony 60 survived out of a company of 120 men.
They went into battle singing the volunteer song 'Off to Dublin in the Morning 'and shouting 'Up the Republic' ,as discribed by one of the suvivors, Frank Edwards.
These men on both sides of the Irish contingent were unpaid Volunteers fighting for what they believed in.

FrankRyan head of the IRA Republicans was captured by Mussolinis soldiers at the battle of Ebro Valley in 1938.
The Italians had hoped to exchange him for one of their own officers but negociations broke down.
Ryan was sentanced by Spanish Nationalist Troops to death for mass murder and arson.
He remained in a condemed cell for 9 months during which each day 9 prisoners were taken out and shot and 9 more were put in the death cell.
When an American reporter who had been allowed to talk to the prisoners mentioned in his report a former Irish editor was being held de Valera and his friends realized this must be Frank Ryan and the 'Chief' sent Franco a telegram asking for Ryans life.

When theSpanish Civil War ended in 1938, a sister of Michael Price with the Red Cross found Ryan alive.
De Valera engaged a Spanish lawyer to plead for his life and release.
The death sentance was commuted to life imprisonment but one of Franks German friends from student days, Captain Hoven ,suggested to the German Abwehr[secret service] that Ryans release would be good propaganda.
Admiral Cannaris approved and it was arranged between Canarris , de Valera and the Spanish Secret Police.
Ryan however ,was not notified that he was expected to escape in transport and he caulmly rode on to his new prison.
He was finally carried over the French frontier in 1940 where he was installed a the elegant Tours d Argent Hotel in Paris.
Hoever Ryans health was broken and his hearing had failed in prison.
He later died a guest of Hitlers Germany an honored Marxist ,guest of the Nazis ,at Dresden on June 16 1944 of plurisy and pneumonia ,in pain lonely and broken hearted.
An exemplary illistration of the proverbial Irish Luck.

In Devember 1936 The Porince of Wales Edward VIII abdicated the thone of England for his love the American divorce Wallis Simpson and his brother George VI father of the current Queen Elizabeth II, was installed as King.


In 1937 Eamon De Valera drafted himself a new constitution for the State replacing the old 1922 Constitution derived from the Anglo Irish Treaty partitioning the country.
This old Constitution had been amended in areas such as the Oath of Allegiance, Privy Coucil appeals and elimination of the Govornor General.

When the Prince of Wales, Edward VIII abdicated motivation was found to replace what was percieved as the Britsh emposed Constitution with a native document.

The document was drafted in both English and Irish consecutivly causing some confusion of interpretation, but it was decided the Irish Gaelic interpretation would prevail over the English.

It was prepared in clear consise language order and structure and contained 50 Articles in 16 sections covering the nation the State the Courts and the Parliament.
Articles 41-- covered social legislation and recognized the family as the basic unit of society.

Its Preamble acknowledged God as the Supreme authority and Jesus Christ as Divine Lord.

It acknowledges the freedom of the individual and aspired to achieve social order, unity of the country and accord with other nations.

Article 2 established the right of Irish born persons with one Irish parent to be a guarantee of citizenship if born on the island.
Article 1 garantees the Irish People the right of Self determination and Article 5 declared the State sovereign and independent.

Articles 8 delared the Irish language the first officaial language and English the second official language.

The Constitution established the government as a parliamentary system;
a directly elected president as head of State;
a Taoisech [Prime Minister];
an Oireachtas [Parlieament]
a lower house the Dial Eireann directly elected;
and an upper house the Seanad Eireann part appointed and part indicrectly elected.

TheState was given sweeping powers during time of war or armed rebellion under Article 28 known as the National Emergency.
This article was invoced twice, in 1940 during WW 2 and again in 1976 by threat to national security posed by the provincial IRA in the north.

Article 40- deal with individual rights covering subjects as involuability of the home, freedom of speech and assembly, education, freedom of worship, abortion, habeus corpus, equality under the law and prohibits confering any titles of nobility by the state or acceptance of without government permission this ending the old Gaelic claim of cheiftanships confering legal power.

It is not clear if Article 40.1 prohibits the King of England to be King of Ireland as did George VI till 1949.

The originals Constitution provided 13 transition provisions 51-63 providing for an orderly transition for pre existing Constitution and Institutions.

It delclared the Holy Catholic Apostolic andRoman Church guardian of the faith in Article 44 and claimed the whole island of Ireland as its national territory under Articles 2 and 3.

The document was to be adopted by both houses the ,Dial and the Seanad, submitted to the people for referendum and signed by the President of Ireland.

Bunreacht na Eireann was passed by the Dial on June 14 1937; the Seanad having been abolished by deValera in 1936.

It was submitted by referendum to the people on 1 July, was narrowly approved and became law coming into force on Dec 29 1937.
Your humbel author having come into this world along with the Constitution of Eire ,preceeding its acceptance by 10 months.

Hence the Soarstat passed into history and the new Eire came into being, Eire being thee Gaelic word for the English Ireland.

Eire the wife and the Queen of the last Celtic king of Ireland ,Greine of Ceatur[the 4th tower or the lesson tower]
daughter of Dealbaoth and sister to Fodla and Bamba who asked the conquering Melisian to keep her naem on the island.

in 1938 the economic war with Britian was ended with the 3 London Agreememts signed on April 25 1938.

A reciprocal trade pact was agreed to duty free to both countries.
The treaty ports were returned to Eire and Eire paid 10 million in final settlement of the land annuities.

In June de Valera again went to the people and was reelected with Fianna Fail with a majority of 77 seats giving it independence from Labor.

In the summer of 1938 Hitler invaded and demanded the Sudetenland part of Czechoslovokia and The PM of Great Btitain gave in to his demands under the polciy of appeassement.

In January 1939 the IRA began a bombing campaign in England.
A treason Bill and Offences against the State Bill went into effect in Eire.

On September 1 1939 Nazi Germany attched Poland bringing World War II to frutation.



Judi Donnelly
Copyright September 22 2007


sources: Ireland Since the rising,Coogan, fredrick Praeger, 1966
Ireland A Social and Cultural History,Harper Perennial 2004
Fianna Fail and irish Labor,pluto Press ,1997
Internet via google, Wikipedia: Northern Ireland