The granting, reserving or withholding of the Royal Assent () was one of the key roles, and potentially one of the key powers, possessed by the

Governor-General of the Irish Free State The Governor-General of the Irish Free State ( ga, Seanascal Shaorstát Éireann) was the official representative of the sovereign of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1936. By convention, the office was largely ceremonial. Nonetheless, it wa ...

. Until it was granted, no bill passed by the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

(composed of the Dáil and the Seanad) could complete its passage of enactment and become law.

Origins of the power

The power was created in Article 41 of the '' Irish Free State Constitution (Saorstát Éireann) Act, 1922'' enacted both by the

Third Dáil The Third Dáil was elected at the general election held on 16 June 1922. This election was required to be held under the Anglo-Irish Treaty signed on 6 December 1921. It first met on 9 September and until 6 December 1922, it was the Provision ...

meeting as a

constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

and by the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

and brought into force by a

royal proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

of 6 December 1922.

Anglo-Irish Treaty

The role of the Governor-General in legislative enactment was initially defined in the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

signed in 1921 between

plenipotentiaries A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ' ...

of the

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People * Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor * Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka ...

Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( ga, Poblacht na hÉireann or ) was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by ...

and the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...

and which was ratified by three bodies; the United Kingdom parliament, the

Second Dáil The Second Dáil () was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919 to 1922, Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected ...

and the

House of Commons of Southern Ireland The Parliament of Southern Ireland was a Home Rule legislature established by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was designed to legislate for Southern Ireland,"Order in Cou ...

in December 1921 – January 1922.

The reason for the Royal Assent

All legislation enacted by the Oireachtas of Saorstát Éireann required the Royal Assent to become law for three reasons. # Article 12 stated that the Oireachtas consisted ''"of the King and two Houses, the Chamber of Deputies (... "Dáil Éireann") and the Senate (... "Seanad Éireann")"''. As a result the King through his representative, the Governor-General, was a full participant in law making. # In the event of a dispute the signature of the Governor-General on the Act was evidence that it had been fully and validly enacted. This could prove important were in the future a dispute to arise over whether a particular Act had properly been enacted. An example would be where the Dáil was dissolved the same day as the Bill completed its passage. If it had not already received the Royal Assent prior to the dissolution the Bill would ''fall'' (ie, die). The existence of the Governor-General's signature would act as proof that the Bill had received its Royal Assent before the dissolution, even if only by one minute. # All

Acts of the Oireachtas This is a list of Acts of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) for the years 1922 to present. ;Notes In the lists below, unless otherwise stated, all Acts are public Acts. Prior to 2003, the short title of legislation included a comma before the ...

in the Free State were translated into the two state languages,

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and English. Whichever the Governor-General signed into law would receive primacy in the event of a clash in the texts. (Article 42)

Granting, reserving or withholding Royal Assent

As with the King and other Governors-General in the other

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

s, the Governor-General of the Irish Free State had three options: # The ''granting'' of the Royal Assent, meaning that a Bill became an Act; # The ''reserve'' of the Royal Assent "for His Majesty's Pleasure" meaning that the Bill was put into abeyance pending approval of the Bill by the

King-in-Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...

within one year of the Bill having been presented to the Governor-General. If approval was not given within one year the Bill was deemed vetoed; # The ''withholding'' of the Royal Assent, which meant that the Bill was being vetoed. Between 1922 and 1928 the Governor-General acted as the agent of both the King and the British Government. As a result, he could act on the advice of either, or on his own initiative withholding or refusing Assent. Following the implementation of a decision of a Commonwealth Conference, the British Government's relationship with all dominion Governors-General was terminated, leaving each Governor-General to be the exclusive viceregal representative of the King (who had received the new style ''

King of Ireland King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

''.

Unknown to the Executive Council (''

His Majesty's Government in the Irish Free State His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...

'') the first Governor-General,

Timothy Michael Healy Timothy Michael Healy, KC (17 May 1855 – 26 March 1931) was an Irish nationalist politician, journalist, author, barrister and a controversial Irish Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and ...

, was given instructions to exercise the withholding and refusal powers by the United Kingdom Secretary of State for the Dominions, in a number of specific areas: * The passage of a Bill that conflicted with the

; * The passage of a constitutional amendment to abolish the

Oath of Allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

to the Irish Free State (which included as subsidiary promise of fidelity to the King). Neither of these scenarios occurred during the term of office of Governor-General Healy. By the time his successor,

James McNeill James McNeill (27 March 1869 – 12 December 1938) was an Irish politician and diplomat, who served as first High Commissioner to London and second Governor-General of the Irish Free State. Early life One of five children born to Archibald McN ...

took office in 1928 the British Government's power to instruct the Governor-General had been abolished. Though theoretically he could have done so, the third Governor-General,

Domhnall Ua Buachalla Domhnall Ua Buachalla (; en, Daniel Richard "Donal" Buckley; 3 February 1866 – 30 October 1963) was an Irish politician and member of the First Dáil who served as third and final governor-general of the Irish Free State and later served as ...

, chose not to veto the ''

Constitution (Removal of Oath) Act A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princi ...

, 1933'' enacted in 1933.

Method of Royal Assent

A Bill, having duly passed or having been deemed to pass, in the Dáil and the Seanad, would be presented to the Governor-General (in the Viceregal Lodge until 1932, in his rented residence from 1932 to 1936), by the

President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State The president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State ( ga, Uachtarán ar Ard-Chomhairle Shaorstát Éireann) was the head of government or prime minister of the Irish Free State which existed from 1922 to 1937. He was the chairman of t ...

. Unlike in the United Kingdom, no parliamentary ceremony was invoked to confirm that the Royal Assent had been given. Its details would instead be published in

Iris Oifigiúil ''Iris Oifigiúil'' (; "''Official Journal''") is the official gazette of the Government of Ireland. It replaced ''The Dublin Gazette'', the gazette of the Dublin Castle administration, on 31 January 1922. ''The Belfast Gazette'' was established ...

(the Irish state gazette).

Abolition of withhold and reserve powers

In late 1933, the Oireachtas passed the '' Constitution (Amendment No. 21) Act, 1933'' to abolish the power of the Governor-General to reserve or withhold Royal Assent from Bills. The original Article 41 is shown below, with the section deleted indicated. :''So soon as any Bill shall have been passed or deemed to have been passed by both Houses, the Executive Council shall present the same to the Representative of the Crown for the signification by him, in the King's name, of the King's assent, and such Representative may withhold the King's assent or reserve the Bill for the signification of the King's pleasure: Provided that the Representative of the Crown shall in the withholding of such assent to or the reservation of any Bill, act in accordance with the law, practice, and constitutional usage governing the like withholding of assent or reservation in the Dominion of Canada. :''A Bill reserved for the signification of the King's Pleasure shall not have any force unless and until within one year from the day on which it was presented to the Representative of the Crown for the King's Assent, the Representative of the Crown signifies by speech or message to each of the Houses of the Oireachtas, or by proclamation, that it has received the Assent of the King in Council.'' :''An entry of every such speech, message or proclamation shall be made in the Journal of each House and a duplicate thereof duly attested shall be delivered to the proper officer to be kept among the Records of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann).'' The effect of the change was both to dramatically limit the Governor-General's powers and to prevent any role for the ''King-in-Council'' in lawmaking in the Irish Free State. The right of appeal to the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

was also abolished in 1933 in the '' Constitution (Amendment No.22) Act, 1933'' while the '' Constitution (Amendment No. 20) Act, 1933'' abolished the Governor-General's role in formally recommending the appropriation of funds to the Dáil by message. That role was instead given directly to the Executive Council. The series of three constitutional amendments in 1933 severely curtailed the role of the Governor-General of the Irish Free State.

Domhnall Ua Buachalla

In 1933 the Counsellors of State, Queen Mary, Prince Edward, Prince of Wales and

Prince Albert, Duke of York George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

(acting for King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

who was ill), on the advice of the President of the Executive Council, Éamon de Valera, formally appointed an Anti-Treaty ex-

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

TD,

(Donal Buckley) to become Governor-General of the Irish Free State. Though advised by de Valera's Executive Council not to carry out public engagements, Ua Buachalla continued to carry out his official state functions, including the granting of the Royal Assent.

Abolition of the Royal Assent

The procedure of Royal Assent was abolished by the ''

Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act 1936 The Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act 1936 was an amendment to the Constitution of the Irish Free State that removed all reference to the King, to the office of Governor-General, and almost completely eliminated the King's constitutional role ...

'', which Act was itself the last to receive the Royal Assent. The new Act amended the Constitution so that the

Ceann Comhairle The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session a ...

(speaker of

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

) would sign bills into once passed by the House. Under the new 1937

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democra ...

(''Bunreacht na hÉireann''), which came into force almost exactly one year later, the role of signing bills into law was given to the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

References

{{Irish Free State Government in the Irish Free State History of the British Empire History of the Commonwealth of Nations History of the Republic of Ireland Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations Monarchy in the Irish Free State