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In March 1932, Fianna Fáil won the general election, partly because party leader Éamon de Valera had promised to sever links with Britain if he became head of the government.

He formed a coalition government with the support of the Irish Labour Party.

De Valera aimed to dismantle the Treaty and achieve the maximum possible degree of independence from Britain.

To achieve this he wanted:

1. To remove the links to Britain which existed through the post of Governor-General, the Oath of Allegiance, the Privy Council and membership of the Commonwealth.
2. To secure the return of the treaty ports.
3. To control the Irish Free State’s foreign policy.

De Valera moved in stages to achieve his aims.

He adopted a cautious approach, keeping within the law in order to avoid British retaliation.

The first stage was abolishing the Oath of Allegiance to the British monarch.

Actions

1. After coming to power, de Valera discouraged the members of the new �����from swearing the Oath of Loyalty to the British monarch.
2. In January 1933, de Valera won a snap general election which, he claimed, indicated the public approved of his actions.
3. In May 1933, the ����� passed the Removal of the Oath Act, eliminating the Oath of Allegiance.

The post of Governor-General, held by James MacNeill, was undermined and then abolished.

Actions

1. De Valera stopped inviting MacNeill to official events and Government Ministers snubbed him. Eventually the British government recalled him to London.
2. De Valera replaced MacNeill with Fianna Fáil’s Domhnall Ua Buachalla and gave him the title an seanascal (Chief Steward). His powers were limited, he never lived in the Governor General’s official residence and he undertook no official duties – except signing bills into law.
3. The Governor-General’s ability to refuse Royal Assent for bills passed by the ��á���� was removed in November 1933.
4. The External Relations Act was introduced in December 1936 and resulted in the post of Governor General ceasing to exist.

The Anglo-Irish Treaty had allowed Free State citizens to appeal the decisions of Irish courts, in criminal cases, to the Privy Council in London.

In May 1933, the constitution was changed to stop people making such appeals.

In 1935, London challenged these actions before the Privy Council.

It ruled that the 1931 Statute of Westminster (a law which set out the basis for the relationship between the British Crown and the members of the Commonwealth) gave de Valera the power to make the changes he was making.

From that point on, the courts in the Irish Free State had the final say in law cases.

De Valera used the 1936 abdication crisis to pass:

• The Constitution Act- which removed all reference to the British monarch and the Governor General from the constitution
• The External Relations Act - which abolished the King's authority in the Irish Free State and resulted in the post of Governor General ceasing to exist.

However, the Free State remained a member of the Commonwealth and the monarch was still recognised as the Head of the Commonwealth.

De Valera drew up a new constitution, Bunreacht na h������ann, in 1937.

This was because:

• By 1937, de Valera had made so many changes to the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty that the 1922 constitution, which outlined how the government of the Irish Free State operated, was out of date.
• He wanted to fulfil his 1932 election promise to sever links with Britain.
• He wanted to take advantage of Britain being distracted by internal and external problems.

Bunreacht na h������ann made three significant changes:

• The new name of the state was É������ (Ireland).
• The leader of the Government was Taoiseach (Prime Minister).
• A (mainly ceremonial) President, elected every seven years, replaced the monarch as the Head of State. Douglas Hyde became the first President in 1938.

1. Irish was recognized as the official language.
2. The Catholic Church was given a ‘special position’ although ‘freedom of conscience and the free profession and practice of religion’ was granted to other faiths.
3. Article II claimed the right to rule over the whole island.
4. Article III added that until partition ended, É������’s laws would only apply to the 26 counties currently governed by Dublin

Within five years of coming to power, de Valera had successfully removed many of the limitations on the independence of the Irish Free State.

Ireland had become a republic in all but name.

The British had protested strongly at the actions taken by de Valera between 1932 and 1937.

They argued the Free State could not alter the terms of the Treaty except by mutual consent.

Yet, relations between Britain and ������ did not deteriorate as much as expected as London decided that these changes did not alter its relationship with Dublin.

Bunreacht na hÉ������ann reinforced Unionists’ insecurities as well as their determination to remain within the UK.

The Unionist government – based at Stormont since 1932 – strongly criticised Bunreacht na hÉ������ann.

In particular it:

1. Condemned Article II.
2. Denounced the particular mention of the position of the Catholic Church and the Irish language.
3. Protested against the removal of all references to the British monarch in the new constitution.

Unionists were also annoyed with the British for not trying harder to stop de Valera.

Lord Craigavon (as Sir James Craig was known after 1927) used the opportunity to call a snap general election in 1938, resulting in an increased majority for his party.

Some historians believe that northern nationalists also had a lot to be dissatisfied with.

Despite the inclusion of Articles II and III, it could be argued that, by removing almost all links with Britain and the Commonwealth, the new constitution had actually strengthened partition.

Nationalists were disillusioned because the constitutional changes had increased the determination of unionists to stay part of the United Kingdom.

They were also increasingly disappointed in the Dublin government for not standing up and protecting their interests more.

They also felt isolated because the changes did not end discrimination against them.

The new constitution was passed by a narrow majority in a referendum; this meant that de Valera had successfully removed the symbolic links between the Free State and Britain, but not all southern nationalists were happy as the Free State was not a completely independent republic and partition remained.

However, de Valera had his reasons for not calling ������ a republic.

He wanted to avoid alienating Northern nationalists, unionists and the British and to ensure he did not betray those who had fought for an all-lreland Republic at Easter 1916.