Ireland, Republic of
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Country occupying the main part of the island of Ireland, in northwest Europe. It is bounded to the east by the Irish Sea, south and west by the Atlantic Ocean, and northeast by Northern Ireland.
Government
The 1937 constitution provides for a president, elected by universal suffrage for a seven-year term, and a two-chamber national parliament, consisting of a senate, Seanad Éireann, and a house of representatives, Dáil Éireann, both serving five-year terms. The senate has 60 members, 11 nominated by the prime minister (Taoiseach) and 49 elected by panels representative of most aspects of Irish life. The Dáil consists of 166 members elected by universal suffrage through the single-transferable vote form of proportional representation. The president appoints a prime minister who is nominated by the Dáil, which is subject to dissolution by the president if the government loses its house majority during its five-year term.HistoryFor Irish history pre-1921, see Ireland: history to 1154, Ireland: history 1154 to 1485, Ireland: history 1485 to 1603, Ireland: history 1603 to 1782, and Ireland: history 1782 to 1921. |
The Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921 had given Southern Ireland dominion status within the Commonwealth, and it was now referred to as the Irish Free State. Six out of the nine counties of Ulster remained part of the UK, with limited self-government (see Northern Ireland).
The civil war
The Anglo-Irish Treaty was narrowly ratified by the Dáil Éireann (parliament) in January 1922 (by 64 votes to 57) and a provisional government of the Irish Free State was set up. The Irish Free State was accepted by Irish Republican Army (IRA) leader Michael Collins, as a stepping stone to the goal of greater freedom, but not by many of his colleagues, who refused to accept the partition of Ireland and shifted their allegiance to the more radical Republican leader Éamon de Valera.A bitter civil war ensued, but after a period of guerrilla fighting the ‘Irregulars’ of the splinter anti-Treaty faction of the IRA were suppressed by the Free State army under Gen Richard Mulcahy. During this period the president, Arthur Griffith, died (in August 1922), and Collins took over as head of state. However, Collins was assassinated ten days later, on 22 August, at Béal-na-mBláth in west Cork in an ambush by anti-Treaty IRA men.
| W T Cosgrave then became prime minister (or more accurately, president of the executive council), and T M Healy was nominated as governor general. The aftermath of Collins's killing saw a hardening of the Free State government's tactics towards the anti-Treaty Irregulars in a war that was to bequeath to Ireland a lasting legacy of bitterness. |
T M Healy was succeeded as governor general in 1928 by James McNeill. Cosgrave's pro-Treaty party Cumann na Gaedheal (the predecessor of Fine Gael) remained in power until 1932.
The oath of allegiance
The Republican Fianna Fáil party founded by de Valera in 1926 – which represented the anti-Treaty, more militantly republican side of the Irish Civil War (1922–23) split – put forward candidates at parliamentary elections, but these, when successful, could not sit in the Dáil because of their refusal to take the oath of allegiance to the British crown (one of the provisions of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty).In 1927 the Dáil passed an Electoral Amendment Act making it necessary for parliamentary candidates to subscribe to the oath in order to be eligible for election. The Fianna Fáil candidates thereupon took the oath, declaring beforehand that they regarded it as an ‘empty formula’.
After the general election of February 1932, Fianna Fáil, by uniting with Labour and Independent members, secured a majority in the Dáil, and a government under de Valera's leadership took office. A bill was introduced to abolish the oath of allegiance; it was passed by the Dáil but was rejected by the Senate.
The Land Annuities issue
A more serious issue was the government's decision not to continue the payment to Great Britain of the ‘Land Annuities’, which had originated in the various Land Purchase Acts, under which Irish tenants were enabled to purchase their holdings through loans from the British state. The annual sum due was £3 million.The British government endeavoured to collect the money by imposing tariff duties on Free State exports to the UK, and the Free State retaliated with duties on UK imports. The question was settled in April 1938 by an agreement signed in London, under which the Irish government paid £10 million in commutation of the annuities, the special trading duties were amended, and the British government relinquished the rights in the Irish naval ports (such as Cobh and Lough Swilly) that it had been given by the treaty of 1921.
The constitution of 1937
In 1935 the Dáil passed bills to abolish the Senate and university representation. The office of governor general was abolished. These matters were, however, reconsidered before a new constitution was framed in 1937.The new constitution declared Ireland (now called ‘Eire’) to be a sovereign, independent state; no mention was made of the British crown, but the External Relations Act of 1936 remained in force, giving the crown certain functions in the concluding of treaties and the accrediting of diplomatic representatives. The government of the UK and the dominions agreed that the constitution should not effect a fundamental alteration in the position of Ireland in the Commonwealth.
General developments during and after World War II
When World War II broke out, the Irish government declared the neutrality of the state, a position that was maintained throughout the war. A large number of Irish men and women from Southern Ireland, however, joined the British forces, and many others found war work in the UK. During and after the war the IRA continued its fight for an independent, unified Ireland through a campaign of violence, mainly in Northern Ireland, but also on the British mainland and, to a lesser extent, in the South.The post-war years saw considerable economic advance in the Republic, despite the high rate of emigration of Irish citizens to the UK and elsewhere. Agricultural methods improved and new industries were established, attracting foreign capital. Tourism, notably from the UK and the USA, became one of the Republic's most important industries.
In 1973 Ireland joined the European Community at the same time as Britain and has played an active part in that organization since. Similarly it has shouldered global responsibilities as a member of the United Nations, providing observers and troops for peace-keeping operations in a number of areas.
Post-war politics
In 1948 a coalition government under John Costello of Fine Gael replaced de Valera's Fianna Fáil administration. The last formal links with the British Commonwealth were severed in April 1949 by the coming into force of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948. This event caused no bitterness in either Britain or the Republic of Ireland. The Ireland Act 1949 (of the UK Parliament) subsequently recognized the secession of the Republic of Ireland from dominion status, and confirmed citizens of the Republic in the rights that they had hitherto enjoyed in the UK.In 1951 Costello was defeated at the polls by de Valera's Fianna Fáil party, but was again returned to power in the general election of 1954. At the general election of March 1957 Costello was defeated and de Valera again became Taoiseach (prime minister). He resigned in 1959 and from that year until 1973 was president of the Republic, although obtaining a reduced majority in the presidential election of 1966. He was succeeded as premier by his deputy, Seán Lemass, who was in office until 1966 when Jack Lynch, also of Fianna Fáil, took his place.
Politics in the 1970s
After the 1973 election, the Fianna Fáil government was replaced by a Fine Gael–Labour coalition headed by Liam Cosgrave. The success of the Labour Party in the 1973 election was evidence of the growth of an urban proletariat and an increased demand for more widespread social benefits. Erskine H Childers became president in 1973, and was succeeded on his death in 1974 by Cearbhall (Carroll) Ó Dálaigh.Following the murder in July 1976 of the British ambassador in Dublin, a state of emergency was declared in the Irish Republic in August ‘arising out of the armed conflict now taking place in Northern Ireland’. An Emergency Powers Bill and a Criminal Law Bill were approved by the Dáil in September and were subsequently signed into law by President Ó Dálaigh, but following criticism by the minister of defence, Patrick Donegan, he resigned in late October, and Patrick Hillery was elected unopposed as his successor.
In the general election of June 1977 Fianna Fáil gained a parliamentary majority of 20 over the Fine Gael–Labour coalition, the largest ever achieved in the history of the Irish Republic, and Jack Lynch again became prime minister. Lynch resigned in 1979, and was succeeded by Charles Haughey, also of Fianna Fáil. Haughey's aim was a united Ireland, with considerable independence for the six northern counties.
The Troubles in the North
Until 1969, cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Republic, on both political and economic matters, had been increasing. However the outbreak of violence in the North and the activities of the IRA which, although illegal in the South, was frequently based there, revived old allegiances, bitterness, and party quarrels.Northern Ireland once again dominated Irish politics, and relations between the Republic and Britain deteriorated sporadically. They were at a particularly low ebb after the introduction of internment in the North, and in 1971 the Republic laid a formal complaint against Britain before the European Commission of Human Rights over the treatment of ‘political’ prisoners. However the Republic took part in the Sunningdale Conference in 1973 on the future of Ireland and, as the violence became more acute and predictably spread into the South, strenuous efforts were made against the IRA by the government of the South. In 1979 IRA violence intensified: on the same day in August, Earl Mountbatten was murdered in the Republic and 18 British soldiers were killed in County Down, Northern Ireland.
The Anglo-Irish Agreement
In 1983 all the main Irish and Northern Irish political parties initiated the New Ireland Forum as a vehicle for discussion. Its report was rejected by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government in the UK, but discussions between London and Dublin resulted in the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985, providing for regular consultation and exchange of information on political, legal, security, and cross-border matters. The agreement also said that the status of Northern Ireland would not be changed without the consent of a majority of the people. The agreement was criticized by the Unionist parties of Northern Ireland, who asked that it be rescinded.Politics in the 1980s
After the 1981 election Garret FitzGerald, leader of Fine Gael, formed another coalition with Labour but was defeated the following year on budget proposals and resigned. Haughey returned to office with a minority government, but he too had to resign later that year, resulting in the return of FitzGerald. FitzGerald's coalition ended in 1986, and the February 1987 election again returned Fianna Fáil and Charles Haughey.In 1988 relations between the Republic of Ireland and the UK were at a low ebb because of disagreements over decisions relating to the extradition of republican prisoners. In 1989 Haughey called an election and, after failing to win a majority, entered into a coalition with the Progressive Democrats (a breakaway party from Fianna Fáil), putting two of their members into the cabinet. In November 1990, after being dismissed as deputy prime minister, Brian Lenihan was defeated in the presidential election by the left-wing-backed Mary Robinson.
Haughey resigns
The Progressive Democrat leader Desmond O'Malley withdrew from the coalition after allegations against Haughey, in January 1992, of illegal telephone-tapping. As a result, Haughey lost his parliamentary majority and resigned as Fianna Fáil leader and prime minister. He was succeeded in February 1992 by Albert Reynolds, leading a reconstructed cabinet.In a national referendum in June 1992, Ireland showed its approval of the Maastricht Treaty on European union when 69% voted in favour in a turnout of 57%.
The Fianna Fáil–Labour coalition
Having failed to win a confidence vote in the Dáil, Reynolds called a general election in November 1992. The result gave no party a working majority, although Labour made substantial gains under Dick Spring. In January 1993, after prolonged negotiations, Reynolds succeeded in forming a Fianna Fáil–Labour coalition, with Spring as deputy to Reynolds in the post of minister for foreign affairs. In October 1993 a six-year National Development Plan (NDP) was unveiled, aimed at a ‘transformation of Ireland’.The new coalition began working closely with the UK government in seeking an end to the violence in Northern Ireland, culminating in the Downing Street Declaration in December 1993, in which both Reynolds and UK prime minister John Major offered constitutional talks with all parties if violence was renounced.
After lengthy, behind-the-scenes negotiations on both sides of the Irish border, the IRA formally ended its ‘military operations’ in August 1994, and in October Protestant paramilitaries announced an end to their campaign of violence as long as the IRA cessation held.
Fine Gael joins forces with Labour
In November 1994 Labour leader Dick Spring withdrew his support from the governing coalition in protest over a controversial judicial appointment made by Reynolds. Having lost his parliamentary majority, Reynolds resigned as premier and as leader of Fianna Fáil. For a time it appeared that the new Fianna Fáil leader, Bertie Ahern, would succeed him as premier, but in December 1994 Spring announced the formation of a new coalition of Fine Gael, Labour, and the Democratic Left Party.Fine Gael leader John Bruton, as the new premier, stressed his commitment to the Northern Ireland peace process and, with Spring retaining the post of deputy and foreign minister, Anglo-Irish negotiations resumed. A framework peace document, published in February 1995, contained the Republic's agreement to renounce its claim to Northern Ireland and a proposal for joint North–South administrative bodies with limited powers. In November 1995 the Irish public narrowly voted to legalize divorce in a national referendum.
Following June 1997 elections, Ireland's centre-left government conceded defeat to Bertie Ahern's Fianna Fáil party and its Progressive Democrat allies and Independents. In November 1997 Mary McAleese was elected president. Overall, the Dublin governments of the 1990s showed an enthusiasm to work with London for an end to the conflict in Northern Ireland. The twin aims of this policy were to enable nationalists to make significant progress through constitutional politics, and to reassure unionists that their consent would be required prior to constitutional change. As such, it was hoped that neither republicans nor loyalists would seek or find justification for paramilitary violence.
Following the IRA's second ceasefire, proclaimed in July 1997, Anglo-Irish negotiations continued, and multiparty talks, known as Stormont talks, resumed in January 1998 in Belfast. On 10 April 1998 the Northern Ireland Political Talks Document, also known as the Good Friday agreement, was released. Amongst its fundamental principles were: the establishment of a Northern Ireland Assembly with considerable executive and legislative powers; the founding of a North–South Ministerial Council that would be accountable to a Northern Ireland Assembly as well as to the Irish parliament; the establishment of a British-Irish Council that would liaise between the two governments and devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland; and a new British–Irish agreement that would supersede the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985. The date of a referendum designed to take place simultaneously in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland, in which the proposed settlement would be decided, was set for 22 May 1998.
On that day, the Good Friday agreement was overwhelmingly endorsed by 94.39% (1,442,583 votes) in the Republic of Ireland and 71.12% of voters (676,966 votes) in Northern Ireland. 5.61% (85,748 voters) in the Republic and 28.88% of the electorate (274,879 voters) in Northern Ireland voted ‘No’ to the agreement. The average turnout in the Republic was 55.59% (as compared with 80.98% in the north), that is, 1,528,331 out of 2,749,208 people eligible to vote. Support reached 92% in Kerry and Cavan Monaghah and 93% in Donegal.
In February 2001, John Bruton resigned as leader of Fine Gael after losing a vote of confidence. He was replaced by Michael Noonan.
Rejection of the Treaty of Nice
Voters in the Republic rejected the Treaty of Nice by 54% to 46% in a referendum held in June 2001. The treaty had laid down the minimum changes required to permit eastward expansion of the European Union (EU), and needed to be ratified by all (at that time) 15 EU countries before it could go ahead. However, the European Commission controversially declared that enlargement of the EU would go ahead despite the result.An attempt by the government to further tighten the country's already strict anti-abortion laws was rejected on 7 March 2002 by a narrow margin in a constitutional referendum. Proposals that included removing the threat of suicide as grounds for abortion were defeated by 50.42% to 49.58%.
2002 elections
Fianna Fáil, led by Prime Minister Ahern, retained power in a May general election. Increasing its representation to 81 seats in the Dáil Éireann, the party narrowly fell short of an overall majority, but it was the first time in over 30 years that voters had re-elected a government. The opposition Fine Gael lost seats, with only 31 of its previous 54. Sinn Fein won five seats – an increase of four.| In August 1998, following the Omagh bombing, the Irish government introduced strict legislation to deal with terrorists. |
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