The British–Irish Negotiations on the Drafting of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State

The signing of the instrument popularly known as the “Anglo Irish Treaty” in December 1921 paved the way for the creation of the Irish Free State in December 1922. The draft Constitution of the Irish Free State, created in Dublin in early 1922, was taken to London for a confidential preview in May of that year. The British government insisted that the draft Constitution had effectively ignored the provisions of the 1921 Treaty and demanded major revisions. For a brief period, the collapse of the entire settlement agreed in 1921 appeared to be a real possibility. This disaster was only averted when both sides agreed to redraft substantial portions of the draft Constitution in early June 1922. This chapter examines the negotiating strategies developed in Dublin and London before and during the radical redrafting of the future Constitution of the Irish Free State.