Editing John A. Costello (section)

===Declaration of the republic ===
During the campaign, Clann na Poblachta had promised to repeal the [[Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936|External Relations Act]] of 1936 but did not 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 Ireland leaving the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]]. Costello, for the first time, declared publicly that the Irish government was indeed going to repeal the External Relations Act and declare Ireland a republic.<ref>McCullagh p.209</ref> It has been suggested that this was a reaction to offence caused by the [[Governor General of Canada]] at the time, [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|the Earl Alexander of Tunis]], who was of Northern Irish descent and who allegedly arranged to have placed symbols of Northern Ireland—notably a replica of the famous [[Roaring Meg (cannon)|Roaring Meg]] cannon used in the [[Siege of Derry]]—in front of Costello at an official dinner.<ref>McCullagh p.210</ref> Costello made no mention of these aspects on the second reading of the Republic of Ireland Bill on 24 November and,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0113/D.0113.194811240051.html |title=Dáil Éireann – Volume 113 – 24 November 1948 – the Republic of Ireland Bill, 1948—Second Stage |access-date=2012-08-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912171258/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0113/D.0113.194811240051.html |archive-date=12 September 2012}} Dáil Éireann – Volume 113 – 24 November 1948 The Republic of Ireland Bill, 1948—Second Stage</ref> in his memoirs, claimed that Alexander's behaviour had been perfectly civil and could have had no bearing on a decision which had already been made.<ref>McCullagh pp.207–212</ref>

The news took the [[Government of the United Kingdom]] and even some of Costello's ministers by surprise. The former had not been consulted and, following the declaration of the Republic in 1949, the UK passed the [[Ireland Act 1949|Ireland Act]] that year. This recognised the Republic of Ireland and guaranteed the position of [[Northern Ireland]] within the United Kingdom for so long as a majority there wanted to remain in the United Kingdom. It also granted full rights to any citizens of the republic living in the United Kingdom. Ireland left the Commonwealth on 18 April 1949, when the [[Republic of Ireland Act 1948]] came into force. [[Frederick Henry Boland]], Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, said caustically that the affair demonstrated that "the Taoiseach has as much notion of diplomacy as I have of astrology."<ref>McCullagh p.197</ref> The British envoy [[John Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby|Lord Rugby]] was equally critical of what he called a "slipshod and amateur" move.

Many [[Irish nationalism|nationalists]] now saw [[Partition of Ireland|partition]] as the last obstacle on the road to total national independence. Costello tabled a motion of protest against partition on 10 May 1949, without result.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0115/D.0115.194905100042.html |title=Dáil Éireann – Volume 115 – 10 May, 1949 – Protest Against Partition—Motion |access-date=2010-02-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606110800/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0115/D.0115.194905100042.html |archive-date= 6 June 2011 }} Dáil Éireann – Volume 115 – 10 May 1949 Protest Against Partition—Motion.</ref>