The Removal of the Parliamentary Oath and the Repugnancy Clause from the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State

Abstract

The parliamentary oath contained in the 1921 Anglo Irish Treaty dominated Irish political life from the time of its creation to its abolition in the 1930s. The long and difficult dialogue that produced this oath has been examined in accounts of the British Irish negotiations that preceded the signing of the Anglo Irish Treaty (henceforth ‘the Treaty’ or ‘the 1921 Treaty’), which have further proliferated since the centenary of that important document. The oath is often presented as a root cause of the Irish civil war and the debate continues as to whether the popular name ‘oath of allegiance’ is an accurate term. This chapter outlines the background to this controversial oath, attempts to explain why Irish governments in the early years of the self-governing Irish state failed to abolish it and offers detailed consideration of the legal arguments relating to the final removal of the oath from the Constitution of the Irish Free State in the early 1930s.

Keywords: 1921, Anglo Irish Treaty, oath of allegiance, repugnancy clause, Irish Civil War, Irish State, Constitution