Irish newspapers and the creation of the 1922 constitution of the Irish Free State

This article attempts to recover perceptions of the Constitution of the Irish Free State at the time of its creation through analysis of Irish newspapers published in 1922. The comparative analysis of contemporary perceptions is intended to serve as a counterweight to perceptions of this Constitution presented in scholarship written in the years after 1922 that have been heavily influenced by knowledge of subsequent events. This article includes analysis of the 1922 Constitution in newspapers based in all regions of the island of Ireland. It covers the jurisdiction of ‘Southern Ireland’, that was evolving into the ‘Irish Free State’, and the jurisdiction of ‘Northern Ireland’ that was destined to remain a part of the United Kingdom. The comparative analysis examines differing viewpoints within and between these two jurisdictions. The conclusion argues that the difficulties and relatively short lifespan experienced by the Constitution of the Irish Free State could not have been easily predicted from the vantage point of 1922.