Commonwealth

Commonwealth. The transition from British empire to British Commonwealth, which had begun before 1914, accelerated during the First World War. The South African statesman Smuts was influential in formulating the idea of a British Commonwealth of Nations, united by ties of history and tradition rather than close constitutional bonds. The term ‘empire’ continued to be used by the British government, though not by the dominions.

In 1921 dominion concern at the Anglo‐Irish War was expressed at the imperial conference taking place in London and Smuts favoured dominion status as a solution. The treaty was welcomed by the dominions, although the consequences of including in the Commonwealth a country with different history and traditions were not foreseen.

The Irish played little part in the 1923 imperial conference but after that, with Canada and South Africa, were determined to extend dominion status by removing inequalities. In the imperial conferences of 1926 and 1930, and the Operation of Dominion Legislation conference in 1929, the Irish played a leading role in the drafting of the Balfour declaration and the Statute of West‐minster, which gave the dominions constitutional independence. The Balfour declaration stated that the dominions were ‘autonomous communities … equal in status, in no way subordinate … in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs though united by a common allegiance to the Crown and freely associated as a member of the British Commonwealth’. Equality of status was ‘the root principle’. However, the Irish contribution to these constitutional landmarks in the Commonwealth lacked electoral appeal at home.

In 1932, when de Valera abolished the oath of allegiance, the British government mobilized the dominions to protest but this backfired. It stiffened de Valera's distrust of the Commonwealth and he rejected Commonwealth arbitration on the land annuities. His vigorous response made Canada and South Africa reluctant to intervene again as the dispute intensified. However an Irish delegation (excluding de Valera) attended the imperial economic conference at Ottawa, and Irish officials continued to attend Commonwealth meetings at the League of Nations.

The External Relations Act and the 1937 constitution implemented de Valera's policy of external association. They were discussed at the 1937 imperial conference, when British and Commonwealth delegates accepted that they did not affect the Free State's position as a member of the Commonwealth.

When war broke out in 1939, Ireland was the only neutral dominion. Churchill tried to enlist dominion support over the treaty ports but was unsuccessful. The dominions, particularly Canada, helped to mitigate the tension between Ireland, Britain, and America over neutrality. After the war, although he considered secession, de Valera maintained the uneasy Irish relationship with the Commonwealth.

When the interparty government took office in 1948, it decided not to attend the Commonwealth prime ministers' conference in October 1948 but before this, in circumstances still controversial, Taoiseach John A. Costello suddenly announced the repeal of the External Relations Act while on a visit to Canada. After pressure from Commonwealth prime ministers, the British government agreed to recognize ‘the specially close relationship between Eire and the Commonwealth’ and not to treat Ireland as a foreign country for purposes of trade and citizenship. These principles were incorporated in the Ireland Act 1949.

Bibliography

Mansergh, Nicholas , The Unresolved Question (1991)

Deirdre McMahon