The Oireachtas of the Irish Free State (Irish: Oireachtas Shaorstát Éireann) was the legislature of the Irish Free State from 1922 until 1937. It was established by the 1922 Constitution of Ireland which was based from the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was the first officially recognised independent Irish Parliament outside of Ireland since the historic Parliament of Ireland which was disbanded with the Act of Union.
The Parliament was bicameral, consisting of the Dáil Éireann (the lower house) with 153 seats and the Seanad Éireann (the upper house; also known as the 'Senate') with 60 seats. The King, who was officially represented by the Governor-General, was also a constitute part of the Oireachtas. The Oireachtas of the Irish Free State were disbanded by the 1937 Constitution of Ireland which created the modern Oireachtas Éireann.
Like the modern Oireachtas, the Free State legislature was dominated by the powerful, directly elected Dáil. Unlike the modern organ, the Free State Oireachtas had authority to amend the constitution as it saw fit, without recourse to a referendum. During the Free State it was also the Oireachtas as a whole, rather than the Dáil, that had authority to commit the state to war, although this distinction was not significant in practice.
Read more about Oireachtas Of The Irish Free State: History, Powers, Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann, Role of The Monarchy, Disbandment
Famous quotes containing the words irish, free and/or state:
“Earth, receive an honoured guest:
William Yeats is laid to rest.
Let the Irish vessel lie
Emptied of its poetry.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“Have you ever been up in your plane at night, alone, somewhere, 20,000 feet above the ocean?... Did you ever hear music up there?... It’s the music a man’s spirit sings to his heart, when the earth’s far away and there isn’t any more fear. It’s the high, fine, beautiful sound of an earth-bound creature who grew wings and flew up high and looked straight into the face of the future. And caught, just for an instant, the unbelievable vision of a free man in a free world.”
—Dalton Trumbo (1905–1976)
“A set of ideas, a point of view, a frame of reference is in space only an intersection, the state of affairs at some given moment in the consciousness of one man or many men, but in time it has evolving form, virtually organic extension. In time ideas can be thought of as sprouting, growing, maturing, bringing forth seed and dying like plants.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)