The ministry of Dáil Éireann () was the cabinet of the 1919–1922

Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( or ) was a Revolutionary republic, revolutionary state that Irish Declaration of Independence, declared its independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdict ...

during the Irish War of Independence. The ministry was originally established by the Dáil Constitution adopted by the First Dáil on 21 January 1919, after it issued the Declaration of Independence. This constitution provided for a cabinet consisting of a

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

, known as the Príomh Aire or President of Dáil Éireann, and four other ministers. The Irish Republic modelled itself on the

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...

of government and so its cabinet was appointed by and answerable to the Dáil. Under the constitution the President was elected by the Dáil, while the remaining ministers were nominated by the President and then ratified by the Dáil. The Dáil could dismiss both the cabinet as a whole and individual ministers by passing a resolution. Ministers could also be dismissed by the President. A number of changes were made to the cabinet system after its adoption in January 1919. The number of ministers was increased in April 1919. As established in 1919, the Irish Republic had no explicit

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

; in 1921 the head of the ministry was renamed as President of the Republic. For a brief period the members of this president's cabinet became known as "secretaries of state" rather than ministers. When the Fourth ministry assumed office in 1922 after the approval of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, with Arthur Griffith as its head, cabinet members were once again described as ministers and Griffith adopted the title of President of Dáil Éireann. For much of 1922, the ministry governed in parallel with the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

, an interim administration established on 16 January 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, with Michael Collins as its

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

and the membership of the two cabinets overlapped. On 25 August, W. T. Cosgrave was appointed as Chairman of the Provisional Government, after Collins had been killed on 22 August, and on 9 September, Cosgrave was also appointed as President of Dáil Éireann, succeeding Griffith who had died on 12 August. The ministry was then effectively the same as the Second provisional government. On 6 December 1922, when the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

came into being, both the ministry and the provisional government were superseded by the Executive Council of the Irish Free State.

List of Ministries

References

{{Governments of Ireland Institutions of the Irish Republic (1919–1922)