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John A. Costello

John A. Costello

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.

Early Life

John A. Costello was born on June 20, 1891 in Dublin. Educated at O’Connell School and University College Dublin, he graduated with a degree in modern languages and law. He studied at King's Inns to become a barrister, winning the Victoria Prize there in 1913 and 1914. Costello was called to the bar in 1914 and began practising as a barrister. He worked as a barrister until 1922 when he joined the staff of the Attorney-General in the newly established Irish Free State. Three years later Costello was called to the inner bar and the following year, 1926, he became Attorney-General to the Cumann na nGaedhael government, led by William T. Cosgrave. While serving in this position he represented Ireland at Imperial Conferences and League of Nations meetings. He was also elected a Bencher of the Honourable Society of King's Inns. Costello lost his position as Attorney-General when Fianna Fáil came to power in 1932. The following year, however, he succeeded in getting elected to Dáil Éireann as a Cumann na nGaedhael, and later a Fine Gael TD. Costello remained on the backbenches of the Dáil until 1948. While he was re-elected at all the general elections until then he wasn't a widely-known TD or a member of the Fine Gael hierarchy. This all changed following the 1948 General Election when a change of government was iminent. Fianna Fáil had been in power for sixteen consecutive years and had been blamed for a downturn in the economy following World War II. The general election results still showed Fianna Fáil to be the largest party, with twice as many seats as the nearest party, Fine Gael. While it looked as if Fianna Fáil were heading for a seventh consecutive general election victory in a row all the other parties in the Dáil joined to form the first inter-party government in the history of the Irish state. The coalition consisted of Fine Gael, the Labour Party, the National Labour Party, Clann na Poblachta, Clann na Talmhan and several Independent TDs. While it looked as if co-operation between these parties would be inconceivable a shared dislike of Fianna Fáil and Eamon de Valera overcame all other difficulties and the government was formed.

Taoiseach 1948-1951

Since Fine Gael was the largest party in the government it had the task of providing a suitable candidate for Taoiseach. Naturally it was assumed that its leader, Richard Mulcahy, would be offered the post, however, he was an unacceptable choice to Clann na Poblachta and its deeply republican leader, Seán MacBride. This was due to Mulchay's record during the Civil War. Instead, Mulcahy unselfishly stepped aside and allowed Costello to become Taoiseach. Costello, who had never held a ministerial position and who hadn't sought the leadership was now the leader of a complex government. Much of its success would depend on his leadership skills.

Declaration of the Republic

During the campaign Clann na Poblachta had promised to repeal the External Relations Act of 1936, but didn't make an issue of this when the government was being formed. However, Costello and his Tánaiste, William Norton of the Labour Party, also disliked the Act. During the summer of 1948 the Cabinet discussed repealing the Act however no firm decision was made. In September 1948 Costello was on an official visit to Canada when a reporter asked him about the possibility of leaving the British Commonwealth. Costello seemed angry by the question and immediately declared publicly that the government was indeed going to repeal the Act and declare a republic. The news took the British Government, and even some of Costello's ministers, by surprise. The former had not been consulted, however, they did not want to lose face and so issued the Ireland Act. This guaranteed the position of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom while at the same time granting certain rights to citizens of the Republic living in the United Kingdom. Finally on Monday April 18, 1949 the twenty-six county Irish Free State left the Commonwealth and became the Republic of Ireland. The last constitutional links to Britain had finally been cut. Many nationalists now saw partition as the last obstacle on the road to total national independence.

Mother & Child Scheme

In 1950 the independent-minded Minister for Health, Dr. Noel Browne, introduced a new Health Bill commonly referred to as the "Mother and Child Scheme". The scheme would provide mothers with free maternity treatment and their children with free medical care up to the age of sixteen. However, the bill was opposed by doctors, who feared a loss of income, and Roman Catholic bishops, who feared the scheme could lead to birth control and abortion. The Cabinet was divided over the issue, many feeling that the state couldn't afford such a scheme. Costello and others in the Cabinet made it clear that in the face of such opposition they would not support the minister. Browne resigned from the government on April 11, 1951 and the scheme was dropped. He immediately published his correspondance with Costello and the bishops, something which had hitherto not been done.

Coalition Achievements

The Costello Government had a number of noteworthy achievements. A new record was set in house-building, the Industrial Development Authority and Córas Tráchtála were established, and the Minister for Health, Noel Browne, brought about a spectacular advance in the treatment of tuberculosis. Ireland also joined a number of organisations such as the Organisation for European Economic Co-Operation and the Council of Europe. However, the government refused to join NATO while the British remained in Northern Ireland. The scheme to supply electricity to even the remotest parts of Ireland was also accelerated.

Election Defeat

While the "Mother and Child" incident did destabilise the government to some extent, it did not lead to its collapse as is generally thought. The government continued, however prices were rising, a balance of payments crisis was looming, and two TDs withdrew their support for the government. These incidents added to the pressure on Costello and so he decided to call a general election for June of 1951. The result was inconclusive but Fianna Fáil returned to power. Costello resigned as Taoiseach. It was at this election that Costello's son, Declan, was elected to the Dáil. Over the next three years while Fianna Fáil was in power a dual-leadership role of Fine Gael was taking place. While Richard Mulcahy was the leader of the party, Costello, who had proved his skill as Taoiseach, remained as parliamentary leader of the party.

Taoiseach 1954-1957

In June 1954 Fianna Fáil lost power. A campaign dominated by economic issues resulted in a Fine Gael-Labour Party-Clann na Talmhan government coming to power. Costello was once again elected Taoiseach. Unfortunately the government could do little to change the ailing nature of Ireland's economy, with emigration and unemployment remaining high. Costello's government did have some success with Ireland becoming a member of the United Nations in 1955. Although the government had a comfortable majority and seemed set for a full term in office, a resumption of IRA activity in Northern Ireland and Britain caused internal strains. The government took strong action against the republicans. In spite of supporting the government from the backbenches, Seán MacBride, the leader of Clann na Poblachta, tabled a motion of no confidence, based on the weakening state of the economy. Fianna Fáil also tabled its own motion of no confidence, and, rather than face almost certain defeat, Costello again asked President Ó Ceallaigh to dissolve the Dáil and Seanad. The general election which followed in 1957 gave Fianna Fáil an overall majority and started another sixteen years of unbroken rule for the party.

Retirement

Following the defeat Costello returned to the bar and for the second time overcame the tradition that a practice could not be built up again after years of absence. In 1959, when Richard Mulcahy resigned the leadership of Fine Gael to James Dillon, Costello retired to the backbenches. He remained on as a TD until 1961 when he retired from politics. During his career he was presented with a number of awards from many universities in the United States. He was also a member of the Royal Irish Academy from 1948. In March 1975 he was made a freeman of the city of Dublin, along with his old political opponent Eamon de Valera. He practised at the bar up to a short time before his death in Dublin, Ireland on January 5, 1976, at the age of 84.

First Government, February 1948 - June 1951


- An Taoiseach: John A. Costello
- An Tánaiste: William Norton
- Minister for Finance: Patrick McGilligan
- Minister for External Affairs: Seán MacBride
- Minister for Justice: Seán Mac Eoin
- Minister for Industry & Commerce: Daniel Morrissey
- Minister for Agriculture: James Dillon
- Minister for Defence: Thomas F. O'Higgins
- Minister for Education: Richard Mulcahy
- Minister for Health: Noel Browne
- Minister for Posts & Telegraphs: James Everett
- Minister for Local Government: Timothy J. Murphy
- Minister for Lands: Joseph Blowick
- Minister for Social Welfare: William Norton

Changes


- May 3, 1949: William Norton becomes the Minister for Local Government on a temporary basis, following the death of Timothy J. Murphy.
- May 11, 1949: Michael Keyes joins the government as Minister for Local Government.
- March 7, 1951: Daniel Morrissey becomes the new Minister for Justice. Seán MacEoin takes over as Minister for Justice. Thomas F. O'Higgins becomes the new Minister for Industry & Commerce.
- April 11, 1951: Noel Browne resigns as Minister for Health.
- April 12, 1951: John A. Costello takes over as Minister for Health.

Second Government, June 1954 - March 1957


- An Taoiseach: John A. Costello
- An Tánaiste: William Norton
- Minister for Finance: Gerard Sweetman
- Minister for External Affairs: Liam Cosgrave
- Minister for Justice: James Everett
- Minister for Industry & Commerce: William Norton
- Minister for Agriculture: James Dillon
- Minister for Defence: Seán MacEoin
- Minister for Education & the Gaeltacht: Richard Mulcahy
  - Minister for the Gaeltacht: Patrick Lindsay (1956-1957)
- Minister for Health: Tom O'Higgins
- Minister for Posts & Telegraphs: Michael Keyes
- Minister for Local Government: Patrick O'Donnell
- Minister for Lands: Joseph Blowick
- Minister for Social Welfare: Brendan Corish

Political Career

Costello, John A. Costello, John A. Costello, John A. Costello, John A.

20 June

June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining.

Events


- 451- According to some sources, this was the date of the Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius' victory over Attila the Hun.
- 1214 - University of Oxford receives its charter.
- 1631 - The sack of Baltimore: the Irish village of Baltimore is attacked by Algerian pirates.
- 1685 - Monmouth Rebellion: The Duke of Monmouth declares himself King of England at Bridgwater.
- 1756 - British garrison imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta.
- 1782 - The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States.
- 1789 - Deputies of the French Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath
- 1791 - The Flight to Varennes began.
- 1819 - The US vessel Savannah arrives at Liverpool, United Kingdom. She is the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic, most of the journey was made under sail.
- 1837 - Queen Victoria succeeds to the British throne.
- 1862 - Barbu Catargiu is assassinated.
- 1863 - West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state.
- 1877 - Alexander Graham Bell installs world's first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- 1893 - Lizzie Borden is acquitted of murdering her stepmother and father.
- 1919 - 150 die at the Teatro Yaguez fire, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
- 1939 - Benny Goodman's Song School ends its radio series.
- 1948 - Toast of the Town, later The Ed Sullivan Show, debuts.
- 1956 - A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashed in Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey killing 74 people
- 1960 - Independence of Mali and Senegal.
- 1963 - The so-called "red telephone" was established between Soviet Union and United States following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- 1966 - Canada sells 336 million bushels (9.14 teragrams) of wheat to Soviet Union.
- 1969 - Jacques Chaban-Delmas becomes Prime Minister of France
- 1969 - Greg Gilbo was born
- 1977 - Oil begins to flow through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).
- 1980 - Roberto Duran starts his classic boxing trilogy with Sugar Ray Leonard by defeating him in Canada by a decision in 15 rounds, to gain the WBC world Welterweight championship.
- 1983 - LZW patent filed in USA.
- 1990 - Asteroid Eureka discovered.
- 1991 - German parliament decides to move the capital from Bonn back to Berlin.
- 2001 - Pervez Musharraf becomes president of Pakistan
- 2001 - In Texas, USA, Andrea Yates drowns her children in a bathtub and admits to the crime. She would be sentenced to life in prison.
- 2003 - LZW patent expires in USA.
- 2003 - Formation of Wikimedia Foundation announced.
- 2004 - Ken Griffey, Jr. becomes the 20th member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
- 2005 - Terri Schiavo's remains are buried in Clearwater, Florida.

Births


- 1005 - Ali az-Zahir, caliph (d. 1036)
- 1389 - John, Duke of Bedford, regent of England (d. 1435)
- 1566 (O.S.) - King Sigismund III of Poland (d. 1632)
- 1583 - Jacob De la Gardie, Swedish soldier and statesman (d. 1652)
- 1634 - Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy (d. 1675)
- 1642 (O.S.) - George Hickes, English minister and scholar (d. 1715)
- 1647 - John George III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1691)
- 1717 - Jacques Saly, French sculptor (d. 1776)
- 1723 - Adam Ferguson, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1816)
- 1723 - Theophilus Lindsey, English theologian (d. 1808)
- 1756 - Joseph Martin Kraus, Swedish composer (d. 1792)
- 1763 - Wolfe Tone, Irish patriot (d. 1798)
- 1771 - Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, Scottish philanthropist and entrepreneur (d. 1820)
- 1786 - Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, French poet
- 1808 - Samson Raphael Hirsch, German rabbi (d. 1888)
- 1819 - Jacques Offenbach, German composer (d. 1880)
- 1860 - Jack Worrall, Australian cricketer, footballer, and coach (d. 1937)
- 1861 - Frederick Hopkins, English biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (d. 1947)
- 1887 - Kurt Schwitters, German painter and writer (d. 1948)
- 1891 - John A. Costello, second Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland (d. 1976)
- 1899 - Jean Moulin, French Resistance leader (d. 1943)
- 1905 - Lillian Hellman, American playwright (d. 1984)
- 1906 - Catherine Cookson, British novelist (d. 1998)
- 1909 - Errol Flynn, Australian actor (d. 1959)
- 1912 - Anthony Buckeridge, English author (d. 2004)
- 1924 - Chet Atkins, American guitar player
- 1928 - Jean-Marie Le Pen, French politician
- 1930 - Magdalena Abakanowicz, Polish artist
- 1931 - Olympia Dukakis, American actress
- 1931 - Martin Landau, American actor
- 1936 - Danny Aiello, American actor
- 1940 - Eugen Drewermann, German theologian
- 1940 - John Mahoney, English actor
- 1941 - Ulf Merbold, German physicist and astronaut
- 1942 - Brian Wilson, American bass player and singer (The Beach Boys)
- 1944 - Cheryl Holdridge, American actress
- 1945 - Anne Murray, Canadian singer
- 1946 - Xanana Gusmão, President of East Timor
- 1947 - Dolores "LaLa" Brooks, American singer the Crystals
- 1947 - Candy Clark, American actress
- 1948 - Ludwig Scotty, President of Nauru
- 1949 - Lionel Richie, American musician and singer The Commodores
- 1951 - Tress MacNeille, American voice actress
- 1952 - John Goodman, American actor
- 1954 - Michael Anthony, American musician
- 1956 - Ace Andres, American musician
- 1958 - Chuck Wagner, American actor
- 1960 - John Taylor, English musician, Duran Duran
- 1960 - Jeremy Monteiro, Singaporean pianist
- 1963 - Viktor Kožený, Czech businessman
- 1967 - Nicole Kidman, Australian actress
- 1968 - Robert Rodríguez, American Film-maker
- 1970 - Russell Garcia, British field hockey player
- 1970 - Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco
- 1971 - Jeordie White, American bassist
- 1977 - Stefán H. Ófeigsson, Icelandic space engineer
- 1978 - Frank Lampard, English footballer
- 1981 - Ardian Gashi, Norwegian footballer

Deaths


- 451 - Theodorid, King of the Visigoths
- 840 - Louis the Pious, King of the Franks, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (b. 778)
- 1597 - Willem Barentsz, Dutch navigator
- 1668 - Heinrich Roth, German Sanskrit scholar (b. 1620)
- 1776 - Benjamin Huntsman, English inventor and manufacturer (b. 1704)
- 1787 - Karl Friedrich Abel, German composer (b. 1723)
- 1800 - Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician (b. 1719)
- 1820 - Manuel Belgrano, Argentine lawyer and politician (b. 1770)
- 1837 - William IV of the United Kingdom (b. 1765)
- 1866 - Bernhard Riemann, German mathematician (b. 1826)
- 1925 - Josef Breuer, Austrian psychologist (b. 1842)
- 1945 - Bruno Frank, German author (b. 1878)
- 1947 - Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (whacked) (b. 1906)
- 1958 - Kurt Alder, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1993 - Vince Foster, Deputy White House Counsel (suicide) (b. 1945)
- 1995 - Emil Cioran, Romanian-born French philosopher and essayist (b. 1911)
- 1998 - Conrad Schumann, East German border guard (b. 1942)
- 1999 - Clifton Fadiman, American author (b. 1902)
- 2002 - Erwin Chargaff, Austrian biochemist (b. 1905)
- 2002 - Tinus Osendarp, Dutch runner (b. 1916)
- 2003 - Bob Stump, U.S. Congressman from Arizona (b. 1927)
- 2005 - Jack Kilby, American electrical engineer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances


- Day of The Royal Victorian Order
- Roman Empire – Festival in honor of Summanus
- Ancient Latvia – Zalu Diena
- UNHCR World Refugee Day
- Flag Day in Argentina (1938)

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/20 BBC: On This Day] ---- June 19 - June 21 - May 20 - July 20 – listing of all days ko:6월 20일 ms:20 Jun ja:6月20日 simple:June 20 th:20 มิถุนายน

5 January

January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. 360 days (361 in leap years) remain in the year after this day.

Events


- 1463 - Poet François Villon is banned from Paris.
- 1477 - Battle of Nancy, Charles the Bold killed, Burgundy becomes part of France.
- 1500 - Duke Ludovico Sforza conquers Milan.
- 1527 - Martyrdom of Felix Manz, a Swiss Anabaptist.
- 1554 - Great fire in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
- 1675 - Battle of Colmar, French army beats Brandenburg.
- 1757 - Louis XV of France survives the assassination attempt by Robert–François Damiens, the last person to be executed in France with the traditional and gruesome form of death penalty used for regicides.
- 1759 - George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis.
- 1781 - American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia is burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold.
- 1846 - The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the United Kingdom.
- 1854 - The San Francisco steamer sinks, 300 dead.
- 1895 - Dreyfus Affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.
- 1896 - An Austrian newspaper reports that Wilhelm Roentgen discovered a type of radiation later known as X-rays.
- 1900 - Irish leader John Edward Redmond calls for a revolt against British rule.
- 1909 - Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
- 1912 - Prague Party Conference
- 1914 - Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage of $5 for a day's labor.
- 1919 - Free Committee for a German Workers' Peace founded, which would become the Nazi party.
- 1925 - Nellie Tayloe Ross becomes the first female governor in the United States.
- 1933 - Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.
- 1940 - FM radio is demonstrated to the FCC for the first time.
- 1944 - The Daily Mail becomes the first transoceanic newspaper.
- 1945 - The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet government of Poland.
- 1948 - Warner Brothers shows the first color newsreel (Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl).
- 1956 - Elvis Presley records "Heartbreak Hotel."
- 1957 - Major league baseballer Jackie Robinson retires.
- 1961 - Television: Mr. Ed debuts.
- 1964 - Pope Paul VI meets the Greek patriarch Athenagoras I in Jerusalem, the first meeting of Catholic and Orthodox Christianity leaders since 1439.
- 1968 - Alexander Dubček comes to power, "Prague Spring" begins in Czechoslovakia.
- 1970 - Soap opera: All My Children premieres.
- 1972 - President of the United States Richard Nixon orders the development of a space shuttle program.
- 1973 - Netherlands recognizes East Germany.
- 1974 - An earthquake in Lima, Peru kills six, and damages 100s of houses.
- 1975 - The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
- 1976 - Cambodia is renamed Democratic Campuchea.
- 1980 - Hewlett-Packard announces release of its first personal computer.
- 1984 - Richard Stallman starts developing GNU.
- 1987 - President of the United States Ronald Reagan undergoes prostate surgery causing worries about his health.
- 1993 - The oil tanker MV Braer runs aground on the coast of the Shetland Islands spilling 84,700 tonnes of oil.
- 1993 - Washington state executes Westley Allan Dodd by hanging (the first legal hanging in America since 1965).
- 1996 - Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone.
- 1997 - Withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya.
- 2000 - The 1st day of the 2000 Al Qaeda Summit.
- 2002 - Charles Bishop, a 15-year-old student pilot, crashes a light aircraft into a Tampa, Florida building, evoking fear of a copycat 9/11 terrorist attack.
- 2006 - Expected activation of Sober worm.

Births


- 1209 - Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1272)
- 1587 - Xu Xiake, Chinese writer and geographer (d. 1641)
- 1592 - Shah Jahan, Mughal Emperor of India (d. 1666)
- 1614 - Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands (d. 1662)
- 1717 - William Wildman Shute Barrington, British statesman (d. 1793)
- 1779 - Stephen Decatur, American naval officer (d. 1820)
- 1779 - Zebulon Pike, American explorer (d. 1813)
- 1846 - Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1926)
- 1855 - King Camp Gillette, American inventor (d. 1932)
- 1865 - Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer (d. 1920)
- 1874 - Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
- 1876 - Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1967)
- 1880 - Nikolay Medtner, Russian composer (d. 1951)
- 1893 - Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian guru (d. 1952)
- 1900 - Yves Tanguy, French painter (d. 1955)
- 1902 - Stella Gibbons, English novelist (d. 1989)
- 1904 - Jeane Dixon, American astrologer (d. 1997)
- 1909 - Stephen Kleene, American mathematician (d. 1994)
- 1910 - Hugh Brannum, American actor (d. 1987)
- 1910 - Jack Lovelock, New Zealand athlete (d. 1949)
- 1913 - Jean-Pierre Aumont, French actor (d. 2001)
- 1914 - George Reeves, American actor (d. 1959)
- 1915 - Arthur H. Robinson, Canadian-born American cartographer (d. 2004)
- 1920 - Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist (d. 1995)
- 1921 - Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss writer (d. 1990)
- 1921 - Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- 1923 - Sam Phillips, American country music producer (d. 2003)
- 1926 - Hosea Williams, American religious leader and civil rights activist (d. 2000)
- 1928 - Ali Bhutto, President of Pakistan (d. 1979)
- 1928 - Walter Mondale, U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate
- 1931 - Alvin Ailey, American choreographer (d. 1989)
- 1931 - Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist
- 1931 - Robert Duvall, American actor and director
- 1932 - Umberto Eco, Italian philologist and writer
- 1932 - Chuck Noll, American football coach
- 1938 - King Juan Carlos I of Spain
- 1938 - Jim Otto, American football player
- 1938 - Ngugi wa Thiongo, Kenyan writer
- 1940 - Michael O'Donoghue, American writer (d. 1994)
- 1941 - Miyazaki Hayao, Japanese animated film maker
- 1942 - Maurizio Pollini, Italian pianist
- 1942 - Charlie Rose, American talk show host
- 1946 - Diane Keaton, American actress
- 1948 - Ted Lange, American actor
- 1950 - Chris Stein, American guitarist (Blondie)
- 1953 - Pamela Sue Martin, American actress
- 1953 - George Tenet, American Central Intelligence Agency director
- 1954 - Alex English, American basketball player
- 1956 - Chen Kenichi, Japanese-born chef
- 1960 - Phil Thornalley, English bass guitarist (The Cure)
- 1961 - Suzy Amis, American actress
- 1962 - Joe Monzo, American composer
- 1968 - Ricky Paull Goldin, American actor
- 1969 - Marilyn Manson, American singer
- 1972 - Sakis Rouvas, Greek singer
- 1975 - Bradley Cooper, American actor
- 1982 - Janica Kostelic, Croatian skier
- 1985 - Richard Butler, English footballer
- 1985 - Michael Cuccione, Canadian actor and singer (d. 2001)

Deaths


- 842 - Al-Mu'tasim, Abbasid caliph (b. 794)
- 1400 - John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English politician (executed)
- 1465 - Charles, Duke of Orléans, French poet (b. 1394)
- 1477 - Charles, Duke of Burgundy (killed in battle) (b. 1433)
- 1524 - Marko Marulić, Croatian poet (b. 1450)
- 1588 - Qi Jiguang, Chinese general (b. 1528)
- 1589 - Catherine de Medici, queen of Henry II of France (b. 1519)
- 1655 - Pope Innocent X (b. 1574)
- 1740 - Antonio Lotti, Italian composer (b. 1667)
- 1762 - Empress Elizabeth of Russia (b. 1709)
- 1771 - John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, British statesman (b. 1710)
- 1846 - Alfred Thomas Agate, American artist (b. 1812)
- 1858 - Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Austrian field marshal (b. 1766)
- 1891 - Emma Abbott, American soprano (b. 1849)
- 1922 - Ernest Shackleton, Irish explorer (b. 1874)
- 1929 - Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich of Russia (b. 1856)
- 1933 - Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States (b. 1872)
- 1941 - Amy Johnson, English pilot (1903)
- 1943 - George Washington Carver, American educator, activist, and botanist (b. 1860)
- 1951 - Andrei Platonov, Russian writer (b. 1899)
- 1956 - Mistinguett, French singer (b. 1875)
- 1963 - Rogers Hornsby, baseball player (b. 1896)
- 1970 - Max Born, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
- 1970 - Roberto Gerhard, Catalan composer (b. 1896)
- 1971 - Douglas Shearer, Canadian film sound engineer (b. 1899)
- 1979 - Charles Mingus, American musician (b. 1922)
- 1981 - Harold C. Urey, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1893)
- 1981 - Lanza del Vasto, Italian philosopher, poet, and activist (b. 1901)
- 1982 - Hans Conried, American actor (b. 1917)
- 1988 - Pete Maravich, American basketball player (b. 1947)
- 1990 - Arthur Kennedy, American actor (b. 1914)
- 1991 - Vasko Popa, Yugoslav poet (b. 1922)
- 1994 - Thomas P. 'Tip' O'Neill, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1912)
- 1996 - Yahya Ayyash, Palestinian terrorist (b. 1966)
- 1998 - Sonny Bono, American singer, actor, U.S. Congressman (skiing accident) (b. 1935)
- 2001 - Nancy Parsons, American actress (b. 1942)
- 2003 - Roy Jenkins, British politician (b. 1920)
- 2003 - Jean Kerr, American author (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Tug McGraw, baseball player (b. 1944)
- 2005 - Danny Sugerman, American music group manager (The Doors) (b. 1954)

Holidays and observances


- The eleventh day of Christmas in Western Christianity, and the Twelfth Night of Christmas in Western Christianity.
- Catholicism - Feast day of St. John Neumann.
- Mungday (Discordianism)
- National Bird Day

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/5 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.tnl.net/when/1/5 Today in History: January 5]
- [http://www.it-observer.com/articles.php?id=972 IT Observer article on Sober worm] ---- January 4 - January 6 - December 5 - February 5 — listing of all days ko:1월 5일 ja:1月5日 simple:January 5 th:5 มกราคม

Barrister

A barrister is a type of lawyer found in Common law jurisidictions who serve as counsel, presenting cases before courts of law. Historically, they had exclusive rights of audience in the courts, and today retain the right of audience in all courts, including supreme courts. Barristers do not normally work directly with clients, instead they are instructed by solicitors: it is the solicitor who works directly with the client. Barristers are refered to as advocates in Scotland and in the Channel Islands.

Barristers in England and Wales

The legal profession in England and Wales is divided between solicitors and barristers. Both are trained in law but serve different functions in the practice of law. Until recently, the most obvious difference between the two professions was that only barristers had a general right of audience in all courts in England and Wales. Barristers were therefore specialists either in appearing in court, or in the process of using the courts, which would include giving oral or written advice on the strength of a case and the best way to conduct it. In fact, many barristers have largely "paper practices" where they rarely or never make court appearances. This difference between the two professions has been eroded recently. Solicitors have always been able to appear before many inferior courts and tribunals. Now many solicitors have what are called "higher rights", enabling them to appear in superior courts, although in practice many do not. The key difference between the two professions is that a solicitor is an attorney, meaning that they stand in the place of their client, wheras a barrister merely speaks on behalf of their client. For example, a solicitor may hold funds on behalf of their client (for example in conveyancing) whereas a barrister is forbidden from doing so. A further difference is that a barrister may either be "employed" or in "independent practice". Formerly, an employed barrister could represent only their employer (and thus could not give general legal services to the public) but there is an increasing trend for barristers to be employed by a solicitors firm and provide general legal services as a lawyer at that firm (retaining their rights of audience in the more senior courts). Most representation, though, is given by barristers in independent practice, who may not be members of partnerships (as solicitors usually are), but must act as sole traders with unlimited liability. In order to function in the legal services market, most barristers in independent practice form themselves into groups, called "chambers" or "sets". Many common costs are shared between members of the set, including the finding of work. Barristers in independent practice could not, in the past, accept work directly from members of the public, but could only be instructed through the intermediary of a solicitor. This is still the normal way in which such barristers are instructed, but many now offer various kinds of direct access. Most barristers are probably properly equated with US trial lawyers in that they do not normally deal with the public (or lay clients) directly, but through the intermediary of a solicitor. There are currently about 10,000 barristers in practice in England and Wales, of whom about ten percent are QCs. Many barristers are also employed in companies as ‘in-house’ counsel, or by local or national government or in academic institutions.

Appearance and forms of address

A barrister's dress in court depends on whether the hearing is "robed" or not. Trials in open court are still mostly robed. Interim hearings and trials in chambers are almost always unrobed, though this is at the discretion of the judge. At a robed hearing, barristers must wear a wig (usually of horsehair), with a black gown and a dark suit and a shirt, with strips of white cotton called 'bands' hanging before a wing collar. QCs wear slightly different silk gowns over short embroidered black jackets. By contrast, solicitors appearing as advocates do not wear wigs, though they must still wear a gown. The question of barristers' and judges' clothing is currently the subject of review, and there is some pressure to adopt a more "modern" style of dress, with European-style gowns worn over lounge suits. Traditionally, barristers refer to each other in court as "my learned friend", and solicitors as "my friend"; this harks back to the days when the legal profession was small enough for all practitioners to know each other personally. Some barristers believe that the distinction in form of address is potentially insulting to solicitors and try to refer to other barristers and solicitors in the same way.

The Inns of Court

While solicitors are regulated by the Law Society, barristers are governed by the General Council of the Bar and the individual Inns of Court. There are four Inns, all situated in the area of London close to the Law Courts in the Strand. Gray's Inn is off High Holborn, Lincoln's Inn off Chancery Lane, the Middle and Inner Temples, situated between Fleet Street and the Embankment. The Inns bear more than a passing resemblance to Oxford and Cambridge colleges, with communal dining halls and libraries as well as living and working rooms: arguably, this facilitates the transition from public school to Oxbridge college to the Bar. Each of these institutions looks (and some say are) remarkably similar. Another element of life at the Bar which is similar to public schools, is that the High Court of Justice, sits in "terms", some of which were adopted as the "term" dates traditionally observed by the public schools.

Qualifying as a barrister

Intending barristers must first complete the academic stage of their legal education by obtaining a qualifying law degree (usually an LL.B., but in some universities B.A. - a first degree in the United Kingdom) but many undertake a one year conversion course having initially graduated in a non-law subject. This conversion course used to be known as a CPE (Common Professional Examination) or PGDL (Postgraduate Diploma in Law), and is now known simply as a GDL: a Graduate Diploma in Law. The student then joins one of the Inns of Court and takes the bar vocational course (BVC) at one of the accredited providers. It is still mandatory to 'keep terms' before the student can be called to the bar. This involves 'eating dinners', a custom whereby all students must dine at their Inn a requisite number of times. It used to be a pre-requisite that twenty-four dinners were eaten before call but the number has since been reduced to twelve. Dining credits are available for participating in specified training events e.g. a weekend at Cumberland Lodge organised by one of the Inns credits attendees with three dinners. It is also possible to "double-dine" on various special occasions, where the student is credited with two dinners. The origins of this date from the time when not merely students but practitioners dined together and students picked up the elements of their education from their fellow diners and from readings given by a senior member of the Inn (Master Reader) after the meal. Even today, at least at Middle Temple, the students are required to be present both at the commencement of the formal meal and at the grace that completes it. Often moots (legal debates arguing for or against a point before a theoretical appellate court) are held in hall afterwards. At the successful completion of their BVC (where continuous assessment as well as examinations are now the rule) and the survival of the requisite number of dining nights, students have been entitled to be 'called to the Bar' at a ceremony in their Inn. This is conducted by the Masters of the Bench, or 'Benchers', who are generally senior practising barristers or judges. However, from 2008, only those who have successfully completed pupillage will be entitled to be called to the bar. Once called to the bar, the new barrister has a choice whether or not to pursue a career in practice. There are far more applicants for "tenancy" in barristers' "Chambers" (see below) than there are places, and so many barristers, unable to obtain a tenancy in chambers, nowadays choose to go into commerce or academe and eschew the vagaries of life in the courtroom. Those who wish to become a practising barrister must first obtain a 'pupillage'. This is a competitive process which involves some 1500 students applying for some 600 places each year. The online pupillage application system, OLPAS enables applicants to submit their details to up to twelve barristers chambers. The OLPAS application rounds take place twice a year in summer and autumn with individual chambers recruiting in one or other of these seasons, or both, should they not find suitable pupils the first time around. The OLPAS system is utilised by most chambers to recruit their pupils; many, however, do not, and these chambers must be contacted directly by applicants. There is no limit to the number of non-OLPAS chambers that an applicant can contact, although such chambers' recruiting deadlines broadly mirror those of the OLPAS sets, in that some will recruit only in the summer and others only in the autumn. Pupillage consists of a period of twelve months, where the pupil serves an apprenticeship (known as a "pupillage") to a barrister of at least five years experience. This is traditionally served in two six-month periods under different pupil-masters (three month periods are becoming increasingly common), usually in the same chambers. Traditionally, the pupil was paid nothing and could earn no fees until the second six month period, when he or she was entitled to undertake work independently. All sets are now required to pay their pupils a minimum of £10,000 per year. Some pay considerably more than that although others have applied for exemption and do not guarantee any income. The Bar is a very varied profession, both in terms of the specialism (or otherwise) of individual sets of chambers, and in the financial rewards available. For sets doing predominantly publicly-funded work, earnings are low for new practitioners, and tend to remain so for many years. In such areas, the Bar remains a career where supportive bank managers (and/or parents) are necessary. In other more specialised areas serving private clients, such as commercial, tax or chancery work, earnings are far higher and at least comparable to those of similarly experienced solicitors in big City firms (perhaps with the exception of the highest-earning partners at such firms). The Bar is perceived as something of an elite profession, both in the social sense and also academically: many barristers are educated in educational systems of the older universities where competition is encouraged. After pupillage the new barrister must find a seat or 'tenancy' in a set of chambers. Chambers are groups of barristers, and tend to comprise between 20 and 60 barristers. The members of a Chambers share the rent and facilities, such as the service of "clerks" (who are a cross between a salesperson and a PA), secretaries and other support staff. Most chambers offer a system whereby the members contribute to these common expenses by paying a certain percentage of their gross income and/or rent office space. However, there is no profit-sharing as in a business partnership, and individual barristers keep the fees they themeselves earn, beyond what they have to pay towards the chambers expenses. The Bar remains a highly individualistic profession. Nonetheless, earnings can be high, with the top Queen's Counsel (QCs or 'silks' as they are known, from their silk gowns) making well in excess of £1 million a year. Although not all barristers now practise from the Inns themselves (for reasons such as the limited amount of space available and the terms upon which Inns premises are habitually leased), the vast majority still practise from chambers. The names placed on boards at the entrances of many of the staircases of the buildings within the Inns are the names of the tenant barristers (and occasionally distinguished members now prominent in judicial or political life) practising out of the chambers in those buildings.

Barristers in Northern Ireland

Queen's Counsel The legal profession in Northern Ireland consists of two separate and complementary branches - Barristers and [http://www.lawsoc-ni.org Solicitors]. They are trained and organised in distinctive ways which reflect the differences in their functions and the services they provide. The solicitor is usually the first point of contact for any member of the public seeking legal advice. In the normal course of events the solicitor is often the only point of contact as he or she is qualified to see many matters through from beginning to end, for example in conveyancing, debt collecting, making and dealing with wills and matrimonial cases. The practising barrister is essentially a consultant offering specialist services as an adviser and advocate in all matters involving the law. In the first instance the barrister does not meet the lay client, namely the person who may require advice or representation, but if it is necessary the solicitor takes instructions from the client and approaches a barrister to advise or to represent the client in court. The distancing of the barrister from the client is seen to be advantageous in that it helps maintain impartiality. Where a case proceeds the solicitor carries out some of the preparatory work. Barristers, with their intimate knowledge of litigation, of the ways of the court and of the judiciary, concentrate on the presentation of the case. Meetings between barrister and client take place according to needs and circumstances. Often things go no further if the claim or defence is unlikely to succeed. In April 2003 there were 555 barristers in independent practice in Northern Ireland. There are 66 Queen’s Counsel or QC's, barristers who have earned a high reputation and are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor as senior advocates and advisers. The title does not imply an association with the State. Those barristers who are not QC's are called Junior Counsel and are styled "B.L." or "Barrister-at-Law". The term "junior" is misleading since many members of the Junior Bar are experienced barristers with considerable expertise. Benchers are, and have been for centuries, the governing bodies of the four Inns of Court in London and King’s Inns, Dublin. The Benchers of the Inn of Court of Northern Ireland governed the Inn until the enactment of the Constitution of the Inn in 1983, which provides that the government of the Inn is shared between the Benchers, the Executive Council of the Inn and members of the Inn assembled in General Meeting. The Executive Council (through its Education Committee) is responsible for considering Memorials submitted by applicants for admission as students of the Inn and by Bar students of the Inn for admission to the degree of Barrister-at-Law and making recommendations to the Benchers. The final decisions on these memorials are taken by the Benchers. The Benchers also have the exclusive power of expelling or suspending a Bar student and of disbarring a barrister or suspending a barrister from practice. The Executive Council is also involved with the education; fees of students; calling counsel to the Bar although call to the Bar is performed by the Lord Chief Justice on the invitation of the Benchers; administration of the Bar Library (to which all practising members of the Bar belong); and liaising with corresponding bodies in other countries. The Bar Council is responsible for the maintenance of the standards, honour and independence of the Bar and, through its Professional Conduct Committee, receives and investigates complaints against members of the Bar in their professional capacity.

Barristers in other jurisdictions

Barristers are also found in the Republic of Ireland, Hong Kong (where the Chinese name da lu shi, 大律師 is also used), and Australia (in the states without a fused profession, namely New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland). In Canada, the professions of barrister and solicitor are fused, and many lawyers refer to themselves with both names. However, in Quebec, which has substantive law under the civil law tradition, the practice is closer to that of the United Kingdom, with les avocats practicing before the courts, and civil law notaries or les notaires limited to most of the functions of solicitors. In Western Australia and Victoria, the professions of barristers and solicitors are fused, but nonetheless an independent bar is in existence, regulated by those States' Legal Practice Boards. A similar arrangement exists in New Zealand. Unlike its common law brethren, the United States does not draw a distinction between barristers and solicitors; all lawyers who pass the bar examination may argue in the courts of the state in which they are admitted, although some state appellate courts require attorneys to obtain a separate certificate of admission to plead and practice in the appellate court. This separate admissions process, where it exists, is usually a simple matter of paying a small application fee. Federal courts at each level (Federal District, Circuit Courts of Appeals, Supreme Court) require specific admission to that court's bar in order to practice before it, but there is no separate examination process for federal courts, and admission is usually granted as a matter of course to any attorney licensed in the state where the particular federal court sits. Although most European countries have divided legal professions, with different kinds of lawyers performing different functions, only Spain has a division which generally corresponds to the division in Britain between barristers/advocates and solicitors. Procuradores represent the interests of a litigant in court, while abogados is the general term for other lawyers. Procuradores are regulated by Royal Decree 2046 of 1982, which approved the General Statute of the Procuradores, and the Organic Law no.6 of 1985. The General Statute regulates the qualifications and conduct of the procuradores. Thus, obligations to act pro bono are laid down by Article 13.

External links


- [http://www.austbar.asn.au/ Australian Bar Association (barristers in the Commonwealth of Australia)]
- [http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/ Bar Council (barristers in England and Wales)]
- [http://www.barlibrary.com/ Bar Library of Northern Ireland]
- [http://www.hkba.org/ Hong Kong Bar Association (barristers in Hong Kong)]
- [http://www.advocates.org.uk Faculty of Advocates (advocates in Scotland) ]
- [http://www.jonathanmitchell.info/advocates.html Further material on advocates in Scotland]
- [http://www.lawlibrary.ie/ Irish Bar Council (barristers in the Republic of Ireland)]
- [http://www.austbar.asn.au/section/5889.html List of Australian law links, including several bar associations]
- [http://www.nswbar.asn.au/ Bar Association of New South Wales (Australia)]
- [http://www.vicbar.com.au/2_1_4.html Victorian Bar Site]
- [http://www.lsuc.on.ca Law Society of Upper Canada]
- [http://www.hklawsoc.org.hk/ Law Society of Hong Kong] Category:Legal occupations Category:Professions Category:United Kingdom law Category:Common law Category:Lawyers

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Ireland's 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 and Irish Republic representatives in London on December 6, 1921. The Irish Free State came into being in December 1922, replacing two co-existing but nominally rival states, the de jure Southern Ireland, which had been created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and which from January 1922 had been governed by a Provisional Government under Michael Collins and the de facto Irish Republic under the President of Dáil Éireann, Arthur Griffith, which had been created by Dáil Éireann in 1919. (In August 1922, both states in effect merged with the deaths of their leaders; both posts came to be held simultaneously by W.T. Cosgrave.)

The historic background

The Easter Rising of 1916, and in particular the decision of the British military authorities to execute many of its leaders after courts martial, generated sympathy for the republican cause in Ireland. But, crucially, it was the republicans and some independent Nationalists who led opposition to the idea of compulsory military service for Irish men in the conscription crisis of early 1918. The crisis saw the Irish Parliamentary Party, who supported the Allied cause in the Great War in response to the passing of the final Third Home Rule Act 1914, become discredited and the result was that in the December 1918 general election the majority of Irish seats in the Westminster parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland were won (mainly unopposed without contests) by Sinn Féin, a previously non-violent monarchist party founded by Arthur Griffith in 1905, that under Eamon de Valera's leadership from 1917 had campaigned aggressively for an Irish republic. In January 1919, Sinn Féin MPs (or TDs as they became known, from the Irish Teachta Dála) refusing to sit at Westminster, assembled in Dublin and formed a single chamber Irish parliament called Dáil Éireann (Assembly of Ireland). It affirmed the creation of an Irish Republic and passed a Declaration of Independence. However only the Soviet Union recognised the Irish Republic internationally, although it was accepted by the overwhelming majority of Irish people. (Recent calculations of Sinn Féin support in 1918, based on actual electoral battles at national and local level puts party support at in the region of 45–48%, largely because many of their seats were won without being contested). The War of Independence was fought between the army of the "Republic," the Irish Republican Army (known now as the "Old IRA" to distinguish it from later claimants to the title) and the British Army of the United Kingdom of which Ireland was still nominally part. In 1921, a truce was declared, and at the end of the year, negotiations were opened, under British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and Arthur Griffith, who headed the Irish Republic's delegation. In reality, that these negotiations would produce a form of Irish government short of the independence wished for by republicans was not in doubt. The United Kingdom could not offer a republican form of government without losing prestige and risking demands for something similar throughout the Empire. Furthermore, as one of the negotiators, Michael Collins, later admitted (and he was in a position to know, given his role in the independence war), the IRA at the time of the Truce was weeks, if not days, from collapse, with a chronic shortage of ammunition. "Frankly, we thought they were mad," Collins said of the sudden British offer of a truce, although it was unlikely they would not have continued in one form or another, given the level of public support. The President of the Republic, Eamon de Valera, himself realised that a republic was not on offer. He decided not to be a part of the treaty delegation and so be tainted with what some more militant republicans were bound to call a "sell out." As expected, the Anglo-Irish Treaty explicitly ruled out a republic. What it offered was dominion status, as a state of the British Commonwealth (now called the Commonwealth of Nations), equal to Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Though less than expected by the Sinn Féin leadership of 1919–1922, it was substantially more than the initial form of home rule within the United Kingdom sought by Charles Stewart Parnell from 1880 and a serious advancement on the final Third Home Rule Act 1914 which the Irish nationalist leader John Redmond had achieved through democratic parliamentary proceedings.

The governmental and constitutional structures of the Irish Free State

The structures of the new Irish Free State were laid out in the Treaty and in the Constitution of the Irish Free State Act. It provided for a constitutional monarchy, with a three tier parliament, called the Oireachtas, made up of the King and two houses, Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann (the Irish Senate). Executive authority was vested in the King, and exercised by a cabinet called the Executive Council, presided over by a prime minister called the President of the Executive Council.

The Representative of the Crown

The King in Ireland was represented by a Governor-General of the Irish Free State, The office replaced the previous Lord Lieutenant, who had headed English and British administrations in Ireland since the Middle Ages.

The Oath of Allegiance

As with all dominions, provision was made for an Oath of Allegiance. Within dominions, such oaths were taken by parliamentarians personally towards the monarch. The Irish Oath of Allegiance was fundamentally different. It had two elements; the first, an oath to the Free State, as by law established, the second part a promise of fidelity, to His Majesty, King George V, his heirs and successors. That second fidelity element, however, was qualified in two ways. It was to the King in Ireland, not specifically to the British King. Secondly, it was to the King explicitly in his role as part of the Treaty settlement, not in terms of pre-1922 British rule. The Oath itself came from a combination of three sources, and was largely the work of Michael Collins in the Treaty negotiations. It came in part from a draft oath suggested prior to the negotiations by President de Valera. Other sections were taken by Collins directly from the Oath of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, of which he was the secret head. In its structure, it was also partially based on the form and structure used in the Dominion of Canada. Besides this which is heavily debated, Eileen Dover was also mentioned as a member of the Canadian board that sent suggestions to the forming Irish State. Though controversially moderate by other dominion standards, and notably indirect in its reference to the monarchy (and hence widely criticised by unionists and other dominions), it was criticised by nationalists and republicans for making any reference to the Crown, the claim being that it was a direct oath to the Crown, a fact demonstrably incorrect by an examination of its wording. But in 1922 Ireland and beyond, it was the perception, not the reality, that influenced public debate on the issue. Had its original author, Michael Collins, survived, he might have been able to clarify its actual meaning, but with his assassination in 1922, no major negotiator to the Oath's creation on the Irish side was still alive, available or pro-Treaty. (The leader of the Irish delegation, Arthur Griffith had also died in August 1922). The Oath became a key issue in the resulting Irish Civil War that divided the pro- and anti-treaty sides in 1922–23.

Irish Free State at the British Empire Games

The Irish Free State sent a team to the British Empire Games in 1934 in London.

Northern Ireland

The Treaty provided for an all-Ireland thirty-two county state, subject to the proviso that the six Northern Ireland counties, which had their own government under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, could formally opt out of the Free State, which they duly did. (Had it remained, Northern Ireland would have been a self-governing province of the Irish Free State, with its own parliament and government as before.) Northern Ireland thus remained part of the renamed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Treaty also allowed the United Kingdom to retain naval use of four Free State ports.

The Irish Civil War

The compromises contained in the agreement caused the civil war in the 26 counties in June 1922-April 1923, in which Michael Collins's pro-Treaty "Free Staters" defeated the anti-Treaty Republicans led by Eamon de Valera, who had resigned as president of the Republic on the treaty's ratification, to the fury of some of his own supporters, notably Sean T. O'Kelly. On resigning, he then sought re-election in an attempt to wreck the treaty. However his ploy failed as the electorate voted for pro-treaty candidates. Arthur Griffith became President. Michael Collins was chosen by the House of Commons of Southern Ireland (a body set up under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and to which the Provisional Government was nominally answerable) to become Provisional Prime Minister. As both the House of Commons and the Dáil had almost identical members, it was academic which body was meeting. Griffith's republican administration and Collins' Crown-appointed government merged with the deaths of both men, their respective offices being held by the same man, W.T. Cosgrave.

"Freedom to achieve freedom"

W.T. Cosgrave issue from late 1928, this is a farthing coin from 1936 showing the obverse.]]

Governance

Two political Parties governed the Irish Free State between 1922 and 1937.
- Cumann na nGaedheal under W.T. Cosgrave (1922-32)
- Fianna Fáil under Eamon de Valera (1932-37)

Constitutional evolution

Michael Collins described the Treaty as 'the freedom to achieve freedom'. In practice, the Treaty offered most of the symbols, powers and functions of independence, including a functioning parliamentary democracy, executive, judiciary, a written constitution which could be changed by the Free State, etc. However, in theory, a number of limits existed:
- The British king remained king in Ireland;
- The British Government had a continued role in Irish governance. Officially the representative of the King, the Governor-General also received instructions from the British Government on his use of the Royal Assent, namely a Bill passed by the Dáil and Seanad could be Granted Assent (signed into law), Withheld (not signed, pending later approval) or Denied (i.e., vetoed). Letters patent to the first Governor-General Tim Healy had named Bills that if passed were to be blocked, namely an attempt to abolish the Oath, etc. In reality no such Bills were ever introduced, so the issue never arose.
- The Irish Free State, like all Dominions, had an inferior status to the United Kingdom, which meant, in theory, it could not have its own citizenship (merely a shared Commonwealth citizenship), could not have direct access to the monarch except through a British minister, and had to use the British state's Great Seal of the Realm on all of its state documents, again symbolising its inferior status to the United Kingdom within the Commonwealth. All this changed in the 1920s. A reform of the King's title, under a Commonwealth Conference decision and given effect by the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927, changed the King's role in each dominion. No more was he King in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, etc. Instead he became King of Ireland, Australia, etc. So from that change, embodied in the Royal Titles Act, the British king had no role whatsoever in each dominion. His only role was as each dominion's own king, advised in each dominion's affairs by the dominion, not by the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the British government lost any role in either the selection of a governor-general or in advising him. In this manner, the United Kingdom lost the ability to influence internal dominion legislation. The Free State went further. It 'accepted' credentials from international ambassadors to Ireland, something no other dominion up to then had done. It registered the treaty with the League of Nations as an international document, to the fury of the United Kingdom, who saw it as a mere internal document between a dominion and the UK. Most dramatically of all, the Statute of Westminster, again embodying a decision of a Commonwealth Conference, enabled each dominion to enact any legislation to change any legislation, without any role for the British parliament which may have enacted the original legislation in the past. Ireland symbolically marked these changes in two mould-breaking moves.
- It sought, and got the King's acceptance, to have an Irish minister, with the complete exclusion of British ministers, formally advising the king as King of Ireland in the exercise of his Irish powers and functions (e.g., the signing of a Treaty between the Irish Free State and the Portuguese Republic in 1931);
- The unprecedented abandonment of the use of the British Great Seal of the Realm and its replacement by the Great Seal of the Irish Free State, which the King awarded to his Irish Kingdom as King of Ireland, again in 1931. (The Irish Seal consisted of a picture of 'King George V of Ireland' enthroned on one side, with the Irish state Harp and the words Saorstát Éireann (Irish for Irish Free State) on the reverse. It is now on display in the Irish National Museum, Collins Barracks in Dublin.) When Eamon de Valera became President of the Executive Council (prime minister) in 1932 he described Cosgrave's ministers' achievements simply. Having read the files, he told his son, Vivion, "they were magnificent, son." (All that remained was British control of a number of ports in the Irish Free State, called the Treaty Ports. However that was an issue not of constitutional law but technical requirements in the Treaty which could be and were renegotiated in 1938 to Ireland's satisfaction.) That freedom allowed de Valera, on becoming President of the Executive Council (February 1932) to go even further. With no British restrictions on his policies, he abolished the Oath of Allegiance (which Cosgrave intended to do had he won the 1932 general election), the Senate, university representation in the Dáil, appeals to the Privy Council. His one major error occurred in 1936 when, in a rush to use the abdication of King Edward VIII, he tried to abolish the crown and governor-general with the Constitution (Amendment No.27 Act), only to be told by senior law officers and others that, as the crown & governor-generalship existed separately from the constitution in a vast number of Acts, Charters, Orders-in-Council, and Letters Patent, they both still existed. He had to rush through a second Bill, The Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937 to repeal all the elements he had forgotten. He retrospectively dated the second Act's effect back to December 1936.

The aftermath of the Irish Free State

In 1937, Eamon de Valera replaced the 1922 constitution of