The
House of Commons of Southern Ireland was established under the
Government of Ireland Act 1920An Act to Provide for the Better Government of Ireland, more usually the Government of Ireland Act 1920, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
. It was the lower house of parliament of
Southern IrelandSouthern Ireland was the short-lived autonomous region of the United Kingdom established on 3 May 1921 and dissolved on 6 December 1922....
. Southern Ireland, like
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
was formally established in May 1921 but Southern Ireland had a much shorter life, being superseded by the
Irish Free StateThe Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand....
in December 1922.
In 1921, elections were held for the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. In reality, no contests occurred.
The
House of Commons of Southern Ireland was established under the
Government of Ireland Act 1920An Act to Provide for the Better Government of Ireland, more usually the Government of Ireland Act 1920, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
. It was the lower house of parliament of
Southern IrelandSouthern Ireland was the short-lived autonomous region of the United Kingdom established on 3 May 1921 and dissolved on 6 December 1922....
. Southern Ireland, like
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
was formally established in May 1921 but Southern Ireland had a much shorter life, being superseded by the
Irish Free StateThe Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand....
in December 1922.
Elections
In 1921, elections were held for the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. In reality, no contests occurred. All 128 MPs were returned unopposed -
Sinn FéinSinn Féin is a political party in Ireland. The current party, led by Gerry Adams, was formed following a split in January 1970 and traces its origins back to the original Sinn Féin party formed in 1905. It is a major party of Irish republicanism and its political ideology is left wing...
won all 124 seats for geographic constituencies, whilst Unionists won the four seats for graduates of
Dublin UniversityDublin University is a university constituency in Ireland, which has been used to elect members of various legislative bodies including currently Seanad Éireann. Alternative names are University of Dublin or Trinity College, Dublin, after the institute it represents...
. The
Irish RepublicThe Irish Republic was a unilaterally declared independent state of Ireland proclaimed in the Easter Rising of 1916 and formally established on 21 January 1919 by Dáil Éireann...
chose to regard that election as elections to the
Second DáilThe Second Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919–1922 Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected in 1921...
. The 124 Sinn Féin candidates elected, plus the Sinn Féin members elected to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland elected at the same time, assembed as the
Second DáilThe Second Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919–1922 Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected in 1921...
.
Only Meeting
In June 1921, the House of Commons, together with the appointed Senate, formally assembled in the Royal College of Science, now Government Buildings, in Merrion St., for a state opening by the
Lord Lieutenant of IrelandThe Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , also known as the Judiciar in the early mediaeval period and as the Lord Deputy as late as the 17th century, was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great...
Viscount Fitzalan of DerwentEdmund Bernard FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent KG, PC , known as Lord Edmund Talbot between 1876 and 1921, was a British Conservative politician and the last Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.-Background:...
.
In reality only four unionist MPs attended. Having elected
Gerald FitzgibbonGerald Fitzgibbon was an Irish barrister and an independent Teachta Dála .He was elected to the House of Commons of Southern Ireland at the 1921 elections, representing the Dublin University constituency as an independent Unionist, he did not participate in the Second Dáil...
to be Speaker, the House adjourned
sine dieAdjournment sine die means " without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing."; for an indefinite period to adjourn an assembly sine die. A legislative body adjourns sine die when it adjourns without appointing a day on which to appear or assemble again...
. This was the only formal meeting of the House of Commons.
In contrast the Senate assembled three times, though its chairman, the
Lord Chancellor of IrelandThe office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801 it was also sthe highest political office of the Irish Parliament....
, was too ill to attend.
"Meeting" approves Treaty
It is sometimes reported that the House of Commons of Southern Ireland approved the
Anglo-Irish TreatyThe 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 of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the de facto Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of Independence...
. This however, is not correct. The Treaty (and the formation of a
Provisional Government of Southern IrelandThe provisional Government of Southern Ireland was the provisional government for the administration of Southern Ireland between 16 January 1922 and 6 December 1922. The government was effectively a transitional administration for the period between the ratifying of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the...
) were matters approved on 14 January 1922
“at a meeting of members of the Parliament elected for constituencies in Southern Ireland”. That meeting was not a meeting of the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. Rather, it was a meeting of the members elected to sit in the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. Notably, the meeting was:
- convened by Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin. He served as President of Dáil Éireann from January to August 1922, and was head of the Irish delegation at the negotiations in London that produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.-Early life:Arthur Griffith was born at 61 Upper...
as “Chairman of the Irish Delegation of Plenipotentiaries” (who had signed the Anglo Irish Treaty) under the terms of the Treaty.
- not convened by Lord Fitzalan, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , also known as the Judiciar in the early mediaeval period and as the Lord Deputy as late as the 17th century, was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great...
who under the Government of Ireland Act 1920An Act to Provide for the Better Government of Ireland, more usually the Government of Ireland Act 1920, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
was the office-holder with the entitlement to convene a meeting of the House of Commons of Southern IrelandThe House of Commons of Southern Ireland was established under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was the lower house of parliament of Southern Ireland...
.
The meeting, on 14 January 1922 in the
Mansion HouseThe Mansion House on Dawson Street, Dublin, is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin and has been since 1715.-Features:The Mansion House's most famous features include the "Round Room", where the First Dáil assembled on 21 January 1919 to proclaim the Irish Declaration of Independence...
, attended by six four pro-Treaty MPs and 4 MPs
Trinity College, DublinTrinity College Dublin , corporately designated as the Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", and is the only constituent college of...
, duly ratified the Treaty and nominated
Michael CollinsMichael Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and MP for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations...
for appointment as
Chairman of the Provisional GovernmentThe Chairman of the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland was a transitional post established in January 1922, lasting until the creation of the Irish Free State in December 1922 in the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland....
. Collins was installed in his post by the Lord Lieutenant in
Dublin Castlethumb|400px|Dublin Castle, Upper Yard
The Bedford Tower of 1761 comprises the centrepiece of the Castle's principal Georgian courtyard, flanked by the gates of Fortitude and Justice...
on 16 January.
Abolition in May 1922
On 27 May 1922 (some months before the establishment of the
Irish Free StateThe Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand....
)
Lord FitzalanEdmund Bernard FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent KG, PC , known as Lord Edmund Talbot between 1876 and 1921, was a British Conservative politician and the last Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.-Background:...
, the
Lord Lieutenant of IrelandThe Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , also known as the Judiciar in the early mediaeval period and as the Lord Deputy as late as the 17th century, was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great...
, in accordance with the
Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922The Irish Free State Act 1922 was an Act of the British Parliament passed on 31 March 1922. It gave the force of law to the Anglo Irish Treaty, which was scheduled to the Act.-Main provisions:...
formally dissolved the Parliament of Southern Ireland and by proclamation called
“a Parliament to be known as and styled the Provisional Parliament”. From that date, the Parliament of Southern Ireland ceased to exist.
See also
- Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from 22 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
, set up simultaneously to legislate for Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.