The Strange Fate of the Dáil Decrees of Revolutionary Ireland, 1919–22

Abstract

This article examines the attempts at legislation in Ireland made by an elected assembly known as ‘Dáil Éireann’ in the revolutionary years between 1919 and 1922. These attempts at legislation, popularly known as ‘Dáil decrees’, have not been published or used as sources of law since the foundation of the Irish state on 6 December 1922. This analysis builds on a pioneering article on this subject published in 1975 by Brian Farrell and attempts to provide additional information on the final fate of the Dáil decrees. The conclusion argues that the fate of this legislation was not, as has been suggested, dictated by divisions created by the Irish civil war of 1922–23. Instead, this analysis concludes that the Dáil decrees faced insuperable practical barriers that could not be overcome after the foundation of the state in 1922.