Law and the Foundation of the Irish State on 6 December 1922

This article examines the question of the date on which the Irish State came into existence in the context of a number of interrelated legal ambiguities that surround its origins. The nature of these deliberate ambiguities explains how and why it is possible to dispute the date on which the State came into existence. This article also analyses key events and legal instruments from the period of transition that lasted for one year between the signing of the Anglo Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921 to the key date of 6 December 1922.