Governor-General of The Irish Free State - Role

Role

Under the Constitution of the Irish Free State, the Governor-General was bound to act in accordance with the "law, practice and constitutional usage" relevant to the Governor General of Canada. His formal duties included the following:

• Executive authority: The executive authority of the state was formally 'vested' in the King but 'exercised' by the Governor-General, on the 'advice' of the Executive Council.
• Appointment of the cabinet: The President of the Executive Council (prime minister) was appointed by the Governor-General after being selected by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament). The remaining ministers were appointed on the nomination of the president, subject to a vote of consent in the Dáil.
• Convention and dissolution of the legislature: The Governor-General, on behalf of the King, convened and dissolved the Oireachtas on the advice of the Executive Council.
• Signing bills into law: The King was formally, along with the Dáil and the Senate, one of three components of the Oireachtas. No bill could become law until it received the Royal Assent, given by the Governor-General on behalf of the King. The Governor-General theoretically had the right to veto a bill or "reserve" it "for the signification of the King's pleasure", in effect postponing a decision on whether or not to enact the bill, for a maximum of one year.
• Appointment of judges: All judges were appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Executive Council.

Until 1928 the Governor-General served an additional role as the British Government's agent in the Free State. This meant that all official correspondence between the British and Irish governments went through the Governor-General, and that he had access to British government papers. It also meant that he could receive secret instructions from the British Government, and so, for example, on assuming office Tim Healy was formally advised by the British Government to veto any law that attempted to abolish the controversial Oath of Allegiance to the Crown sworn by Irish parliamentarians.

However, at the same Imperial Conference from which the change in the mode of the Governor-General's appointment arose, it was agreed that henceforth the Governors-General of Dominions such as the Free State would lose the second half of their dual role, and no longer be representatives of the British Government, with this role being carried out instead by High Commissioners. Furthermore, because, under the changes agreed, the British Government lost the right to advise the King in relation to the Irish Free State, it could no longer issue binding instructions to the Irish Governor-General.

Among all the Governors-General in the British Empire at that time, none of the Governors-General of the Irish Free State ever wore, in public at least, the official ceremonial Court uniform (also known as the Windsor uniform) for someone of their rank.