Editing Irish Republic (section)

== Institutions of government ==
{{PriomhAire}}

===Dáil Éireann===
The central institution of the republic was Dáil Éireann, a [[Unicameralism|unicameral]] assembly formed by the majority of Irish Members of Parliament elected in the [[1918 Irish general election|1918 general election]]. Two further general elections called by the [[Lord Lieutenant of Ireland]],<ref>Under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was to be the chief executive of both Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. Later, when Southern Ireland was replaced by the Irish Free State, the Lord Lieutenancy was abolished and replaced by a [[Governor of Northern Ireland]].</ref> the head of the British [[Dublin Castle administration]], were treated by nationalists as elections to the Dáil. The [[Second Dáil]] comprised members returned in the [[1921 Irish elections|1921 elections]] for the Parliaments of [[Parliament of Northern Ireland|Northern Ireland]] and [[Parliament of Southern Ireland|Southern Ireland]]; the [[Third Dáil]] was elected at the [[1922 Irish general election|1922 general election]] as the "[[Third Dáil#Election of the Third Dáil/Provisional Parliament|provisional parliament]]" of "[[Southern Ireland (1921–22)|Southern Ireland]]", as provided for by the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

At its first meeting the Dáil adopted a brief, provisional constitution known as the [[Dáil Constitution]], as well as a series of basic laws, notably the [[Democratic Programme]]. It also passed a Declaration of Independence.

===Ministry===
The Dáil Constitution vested executive authority in a cabinet called the [[Ministry of Dáil Éireann]] (or {{lang|ga|Aireacht}} in Irish). The Ministry was answerable to the Dáil which elected its head, known initially as the [[President of Dáil Éireann]] ({{lang|ga|Príomh Aire}}). He in turn appointed the ministers. According to the original version of the constitution enacted in January 1919, there were to be four ministers:
:# [[Minister for Finance (Ireland)|Minister of Finance]] ({{lang|ga|Aire Airgid}})
:# [[Minister for Justice (Ireland)|Minister of Home Affairs]] ({{lang|ga|Aire Gnóthaí Duthchais}})
:# [[Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] ({{lang|ga|Aire Gnóthaí Coigcríoch}})
:# [[Minister for Defence (Ireland)|Minister of National Defence]] ({{lang|ga|Aire Cosanta}})

In April 1919, the ministry was increased in size to not more than nine ministers. In August 1921, it was changed again with the title President of the Republic used, suggesting a position of head of state. A ministry of six was created. These were:
:# [[Minister for Finance (Ireland)|Minister of Finance]]
:# [[Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
:# [[Minister for Justice (Ireland)|Minister of Home Affairs]]
:# [[Minister for Defence (Ireland)|Minister of Defence]]
:# [[Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage|Minister of Local Government]]
:# [[Minister for Economic Affairs|Minister of Economic Affairs]]

A number of previous cabinet ministers, notably [[Constance Markievicz]], were demoted to under-secretary level.

The Ministry met as often as secrecy and safety allowed.

===Heads of state and government===
Initially, partly because of the division between republicans and monarchists, the Irish Republic had no [[head of state]]. The Republic's leader was known initially as the {{lang|ga|Príomh Aire}}, literally "prime minister" but referred to in the [[wikisource:Constitution of Dáil Éireann|English version of the constitution]] as "President of the Ministry". Later the English title "[[President of Dáil Éireann]]" also came to be used for the same post, especially during President de Valera's tour of the United States. On 26 August 1921, de Valera had the Dáil appoint him to the new post of "President of the Republic", so that he would be regarded as the head of state in the forthcoming Treaty negotiations. This was to assert the claim that the negotiations were between two sovereign states (Ireland's view), and not that it was between the British government and local politicians (Britain's view). After de Valera's resignation in January 1922, his successors Griffith and Cosgrave called themselves "President of Dáil Éireann".

===Military===
The military branch of the Irish Republic were the [[Irish Volunteers]] who, in the course of the War of Independence, who were formally renamed the "[[Irish Republican Army]]" to reflect their status as the national army of the declared republic. Despite being theoretically under the command of the Dáil's Ministry, in practice individual IRA columns enjoyed a high level of autonomy, subject to H.Q. in Dublin. Arrangements were made in August 1920 for the volunteers to swear an oath of allegiance to the Dáil.

===Judiciary and police===
The judicial arm of the Irish Republic consisted of a network of [[Dáil Courts]] administered by IRA officers, which at first operated in parallel with the British judicial system, and gradually came to supersede it as public opinion swung against the British in some parts of the island. British law allowed for the [[arbitration]] of disputes, provided the parties agreed to it, and as the Dáil Courts were initially described as arbitration panels it was impossible to outlaw them. In other cases the Dáil Courts proved more popular because of the speed and efficiency of their functioning, compared to the local [[Assize]] courts. They proved unable to deal with violent crimes but acquired a good reputation with farmers, particularly in dealing harshly with cases of [[Cattle raiding|cattle rustling]].

The enforcement of law and the decrees of the Dáil Courts was vested in the [[Irish Republican Police]].