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The members of the Inter-Party government, particularly Clann na Poblachta, felt that the 1937 constitution had made Éire a republic in all but name.

In 1948, the Taoiseach, John A Costello, unexpectedly announced that Éire would repeal the External Relations Act 1936 and become a republic.

Although nationalists had always sought independence, the timing of the announcement came as a shock to many.

Costello supported independence for a number of reasons:

• He wanted to make the international status of the country clear.
• He was trying to entice republican voters away fromFianna Fáil and strengthen his new Inter-Party government.
• The Anti-Partition League, formed by Northern Ireland nationalists in 1945, and Clann na Poblachta were gaining support due to their position on this matter.
• He hoped to take the gun out of politics by depriving the IRA of a reason to resort to arms.
• There was increasing confidence in the country that Éire could make a success of total independence.

In November 1948, the Republic of Ireland Bill was introduced, becoming law on Easter Monday 1949.

At the same time. the External Relations Act 1936 was repealed.

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• Formally became a republic.
• Left the British Commonwealth.

Reaction in Éire was mixed:

• Although there was overall approval for independence, many nationalists had reservations about the Act because it seemed to make partition permanent.
• Éamon De Valera disapproved of the legislation.
• A very active lobbying campaign to end partition was begun in the United Nations and among Irish-American voters in the USA.
• Speaking tours of Britain and Australia were undertaken. However, these were not as successful as they had hoped; for example, their offer to join NATO in return for USA support for ending partition was rejected. (Éire had refused to join NATO as it wanted to retain its neutrality.)
• Some felt force was the only way to achieve an end to partition and, in 1948, placards in Dublin read, ‘Arm now to take the North’.

In Northern Ireland, attitudes towards the Republic of Ireland Act were divided.

Nationalists

Northern nationalists were unhappy with the Republic of Ireland Act because:

• Partition continued.
• They felt abandoned by Éire.
• They rejected the Irish Government’s claim it represented the whole of the island and they were disappointed that their request to have TDs sit in the ��á���� was refused.
• They refused to call Éire the Irish Republic and continued to refer to it as the Free State.

Unionists

Unionists felt threatened.

In particular they:

• Resented the Act’s claim to have authority over all of Ireland.
• Saw the Act as a threat and the first step in the creation of a united Ireland.
• Prime Minister Basil Brooke rejected Dublin’s offer of ‘any reasonable constitutional guarantees’ for Protestants if they agreed to end partition. He said, ‘Ulster is not for sale’.

Brooke used the border issue as the justification for calling a general election, held in February 1949.

He wanted the people of Northern Ireland to show Britain they supported partition.

Moreover, unionists were very alarmed by vocal nationalist demands on the international scene for an end to partition.

Nationalists were urged to vote for a united Ireland and were particularly influenced by the Anti-Partition League which fielded many candidates in the election.

• The League had been set up in 1945 to provide an effective and united organisation for all those opposed to partition. It had been very disappointed with de Valera’s lack of progress on ending partition and was determined to make headway on the issue.
• The League grew rapidly, with its main support coming from rural areas and among Catholic small business owners in the north. It also had support from ‘Friends of Ireland’ (a back-bench Labour Party group) in England and from the USA.
• It called for the support of its backers in the Republic of Ireland and, as a result, it was agreed to set up an ‘anti-partition fund’ to help finance the election campaign.

The election became known as the ‘chapel gate election’ as much of the money used to fund the nationalists’ campaign was raised mainly through collections outside churches in the South.

This caused great resentment within the unionist community and the election campaign was tainted by many sectarian clashes.

The result was an increased share of votes and seats for both unionists and nationalists, with the former still controlling Stormont.

However, whilst unionists increased their share of the vote, they continued to feel insecure and greatly resented Éire’s interference in a northern election.

They also sought guarantees from Britain that Northern Ireland would remain within the United Kingdom.

After 1949, the Anti-Partition League began to decline because of poor election results and a general lack of interest in campaigning against partition.

Dublin was worried that Britain would react negatively to the declaration, given that Éire was the first country to leave the Commonwealth.

In addition, there was already longstanding ill-feeling between the two countries.

However, Australia and Canada supported Éire, stating that there was no reason why an Irish Republic could not continue to work closely with the Commonwealth.

In the end, the response in Britain to the Republic of Ireland Act was more measured than expected.

It decided not to treat Éire as a foreign country but as a near neighbour with whom it had a special relationship.

The resulting Ireland Act – passed by Westminster in 1949 - stated that:

1. Passports were not needed for travel between the two countries.
2. Éire citizens working in Britain could claim welfare benefits.
3. Working permits were not required for Irish workers in the UK or British workers in the Republic of Ireland.
4. Citizens of both nations had voting rights in each other’s elections - if they were living in the other country.
5. Éire would continue to enjoy preferential treatment regarding trade.

The Act also stated that the Northern Ireland Parliament had been given the final word in any future debate about the ending of partition.

As a result:

• Unionists were satisfied with these guarantees. Their control of Northern Ireland was confirmed and partition made much more difficult to end.
• Dublin and Northern nationalists were outraged and strongly expressed their displeasure with the Act, particularly the guarantees regarding partition.

Dublin’s foreign policy focus became persuading London to remove the border.

However, nothing was changed.

Clement Attlee felt that, as Dublin had not consulted him about the declaration of the Republic, he was free to give whatever guarantees he wanted to Northern Ireland.