B. The Irish Free State (1923-1937)
B.1. Civil War

Elections for a provisional D�il were held in June 1922, and candidates supporting the Anglo-Irish Treaty won a majority of seats. Anti-treaty forces, however, refused to recognize the authority of the new D�il. Instead, they proclaimed a rival government, led by de Valera, and called for a resumption of the struggle against the United Kingdom. Hostilities between pro- and anti-treaty forces finally broke out on June 28, initiating the Irish Civil War (1922-1923). In the ensuing conflict, hundreds were killed on both sides, including Michael Collins, who died in an ambush.

As the fighting continued, the D�il, headed now by treaty supporter William Thomas Cosgrave, drafted a new constitution that provided for a bicameral (two-chamber) legislature composed of the D�il and the Seanad, or senate. The constitution was adopted in October 1922, approved by the British Parliament, and went into effect in December. The official government of the Irish Free State was instituted at once. Cosgrave, leader of the party Cumann na nGaedheal (later a part of Fine Gael), assumed office as the first president of the executive council (prime minister) of the Irish Free State.

The Free State army soon grew in number and improved in effectiveness. The Roman Catholic Church declared itself opposed to the violence of the anti-treaty forces, and by September 1922 the Free State government felt strong enough to secure passage of a law authorizing the death penalty against anyone found under arms against the government. By early 1923 the Free State army had gained the advantage in the conflict. In April the anti-treaty group, on de Valera�s recommendation, disarmed. This action brought an end to the Irish Civil War.

In the national elections of August 1923, neither pro- nor anti-treaty factions secured a majority. De Valera led his followers in a boycott of the D�il, and Cosgrave, who commanded a majority among those in attendance, retained power. Despite the dire economic disruptions caused by the civil war, Cosgrave established a viable government, in part because of the absence of an effective opposition party. The new government rebuilt and expanded the civil service, enlarged the army and police forces, and reorganized the judiciary. In addition, the government worked to strengthen the economy by improving agricultural efficiency and by constructing a large hydroelectric facility on the Shannon River.

Cosgrave�s government also sought to improve relations with the United Kingdom, whose trade was of utmost importance to Ireland�s economic revival following the civil war. In 1925 agreements were reached on several mutual problems. A permanent boundary between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland was accepted by all parties and ratified. The United Kingdom refused the Free State�s request to annex Tyrone and Fermanagh, the two counties in Northern Ireland with Catholic majorities. However, the United Kingdom agreed to take over the Free State�s share of the national debt.

The Irish Free State had joined the League of Nations in 1923, and the following year it set a precedent for members of the Commonwealth by sending its own ambassador to the United States. At the Imperial Conference of 1926, the Free State joined with the other Commonwealth dominions to obtain an agreement restructuring relations with the United Kingdom. The agreement, summarized in the Balfour Report, stated that the British government would no longer legislate for the dominions or nullify acts passed by their own legislatures. Once the British Parliament confirmed this agreement by the Statute of Westminster in 1931, Ireland had the power to legislate away its remaining ties to the United Kingdom.

De Valera and anti-treaty Sinn Feiners ended their boycott of the Irish legislature following the national election in 1927. They entered the D�il as members of the opposition in the newly founded Fianna F�il Party. Fianna F�il gained control of the D�il in the 1932 national election, partly as a result of the Cosgrave government�s inability to cope with economic problems brought on by the world economic downturn of the early 1930s. De Valera became president of the executive council (prime minister) of the Irish Free State and would remain a powerful force in government for decades. Under de Valera�s leadership, Ireland would become a more nationalist, isolationist, and inward-looking society.