
#On a clear day irish rep free#
The Seanad of the Irish Free State met for the first time on 11 December 1922. The Constitution provided that the Seanad should be composed of citizens who had done honour to the nation by reason of useful public service or who, because of special qualifications or attainments, represented important aspects of the nation’s life. The Constitution of the Irish Free State, which the Third Dáil adopted in 1922, provided for the establishment of an upper house to be known as Seanad Éireann and consisting of 60 Members. The Parliament of Southern Ireland failed to function and was abolished in 1922. In the general election of 1921, 40 Senators were selected but many boycotted the Parliament, and only 15 attended the first meeting. The Parliament of Southern Ireland established in 1920 was also to have an Upper House, to be known as the Senate, with 64 Members. Among these was Countess de Markievicz, who was imprisoned in Holloway prison, London.īefore the Act of Union, the structure of the Irish Parliament mirrored that of the British Parliament, with a House of Commons and a House of Lords. Many Sinn Féin Members were listed as “ar díbirt ag Gallaibh” (banished by foreigners) or “fé ghlas ag Gallaibh” (imprisoned by foreigners). Unionist and Irish Party MPs declined to attend and are listed in the Official Report as “as láthair” (absent). The room was crammed with onlookers and journalists, who greatly outnumbered the 27 Members who attended. On 21 January 1919, the first Dáil met in the Round Room of the Mansion House. The party made good on its promise by inviting all elected Irish representatives to attend a parliamentary assembly in Dublin. However, Sinn Féin had pledged not to sit in Westminster but to create an independent assembly in Ireland. In the 1918 general election, Sinn Féin, the nationalist party, won 73 of 105 Irish seats in the House of Commons. Appearing before an Oireachtas CommitteeĪfter the Easter Rising of 1916, and the executions that followed it, public opinion in Ireland turned against the British crown.
