Aireacht - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Aireacht or Ministry was the cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

of the 1919–1922 Irish Republic

Irish Republic

The Irish Republic was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from Great Britain in January 1919. It established a legislature , a government , a court system and a police force...

. The Ministry was originally established by the Dáil Constitution

Dáil Constitution

The Constitution of Dáil Éireann , more commonly known as the Dáil Constitution, was the constitution of the 1919–22 Irish Republic. It was adopted by the First Dáil at its first meeting on 21 January 1919 and theoretically remained in force for four years. As adopted it consisted of only five...

adopted by the First Dáil

First Dáil

The First Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919–1921. In 1919 candidates who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918 refused to recognise the Parliament of the United Kingdom and instead assembled as a unicameral, revolutionary parliament called "Dáil Éireann"...

in 1919, after it issued the Irish Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence (Ireland)

The Declaration of Independence was a document adopted by Dáil Éireann, the revolutionary parliament of the Irish Republic, at its first meeting in the Mansion House, Dublin, on 21 January 1919. It followed from the Sinn Féin election manifesto of December 1918...

. This constitution provided for a cabinet consisting of a head of government

Head of government

Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...

, known as the Príomh Aire or 'President of Dáil Éireann

President of Dáil Éireann

The President of Dáil Éireann was the leader of the revolutionary Irish Republic of 1919–1921. The office, also known as Príomh Aire , was created in the Dáil Constitution adopted by Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Republic, at its first meeting in January 1919. This provided that the...

', and four other ministers. The Irish Republic modelled itself on the parliamentary system

Parliamentary system

A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....

of government and so its cabinet was theoretically appointed by and answerable to the Dáil

Dáil Éireann (1919-1922)

Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary, unicameral parliament of the unilaterally declared Irish Republic from 1919–1922. The Dáil was first formed by 73 Sinn Féin MPs elected in the 1918 United Kingdom general election. Their manifesto refused to recognise the British parliament at Westminster and...

. Under the constitution the President was elected by the Dáil, while the remaining ministers were nominated by the President and then ratified by the Dáil. The Dáil could dismiss both the cabinet as a whole and individual ministers by passing a resolution. Ministers could also be dismissed by the President.

A number of changes were made to the cabinet system after 1919. The number of ministers was increased and, while as established in 1919 the Irish Republic had no explicit head of state

Head of State

A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

, in 1921 the head of the Ministry was renamed as 'President of the Republic

President of the Irish Republic

President of the Republic was the title given to the head of the Irish ministry or Aireacht in August 1921 by an amendment to the Dáil Constitution, which replaced the previous title, Príomh Aire or President of Dáil Éireann...

'. For a brief period the members of this president's cabinet became known as "secretaries of state" rather than ministers. When the Fourth Ministry assumed office in 1922, with Arthur Griffith

Arthur Griffith

Arthur Griffith was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin. He served as President of Dáil Éireann from January to August 1922, and was head of the Irish delegation at the negotiations in London that produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.-Early life:...

as its head, cabinet members were once again described as ministers and Griffith, a monarchist, adopted the practice of referring to himself as the President of Dáil Éireann, although President of the Republic remained his official title.

For much of 1922 the Aireacht governed in parallel with the Provisional Government

Provisional Government of Southern Ireland

The provisional Government of Southern Ireland was the provisional government for the administration of Southern Ireland between 16 January 1922 and 6 December 1922. The government was effectively a transitional administration for the period between the ratifying of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the...

, an interim administration established under the Anglo-Irish Treaty

Anglo-Irish Treaty

The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...

, and the membership of the two cabinets overlapped. This anomalous situation came to an end in August 1922 when the membership of both administrations was merged into the Second Provisional Government. In December 1922, when the Irish Free State

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

came into being, both the Aireacht and the Provisional Government were abolished and superseded by the Executive Council of the Irish Free State

Executive Council of the Irish Free State

The Executive Council was the cabinet and de facto executive branch of government of the 1922–1937 Irish Free State. Formally, the role of the Executive Council was to "aid and advise" the Governor-General who would exercise the executive authority on behalf of the King...

of the Free State.

List of Ministries

Dáil	Election/Formed	Ministry	President
1st First Dáil The First Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919–1921. In 1919 candidates who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918 refused to recognise the Parliament of the United Kingdom and instead assembled as a unicameral, revolutionary parliament called "Dáil Éireann"...	1918 election	1st Ministry	Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha was an Irish revolutionary and politician, active in the Easter Rising, Irish War of Independence, and the Irish Civil War and was the first Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann.-Background:...	Sinn Féin Sinn Féin Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
	1919	2nd Ministry	Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...	Sinn Féin Sinn Féin Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
2nd Second Dáil The Second Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919–1922 Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected in 1921...	1921 election Irish elections, 1921 Two elections in Ireland took place in 1921, as a result of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 to establish the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. The election was used by Irish Republicans as the basis of membership of the Second Dáil...	3rd Ministry	Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...	Sinn Féin Sinn Féin Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
	1922 (Jan)	4th Ministry	Arthur Griffith Arthur Griffith Arthur Griffith was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin. He served as President of Dáil Éireann from January to August 1922, and was head of the Irish delegation at the negotiations in London that produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.-Early life:...	Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
3rd Third Dáil The Third Dáil, also known as the Provisional Parliament or the Constituent Assembly, was:*the "provisional parliament" or "constituent assembly" of Southern Ireland from 9 August 1922 until 6 December 1922; and...	1922 (Aug)	5th Ministry	W. T. Cosgrave	Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin

List of Ministries

See also