Governor-General's Address to Dáil Éireann
In the
The address was a brief, businesslike event, lacking the pomp and ceremony of the
The first Address: December 1922
The first address was delivered by the newly appointed Governor-General,
The Governor-General began by reading a message sent by King
With the final Enactment of the Constitution the self-governing Dominion of the Irish Free State comes into being.
The Constitution is itself founded on the Treaty that was framed a year ago between the Representatives of Great Britain and of Ireland.
It is my earnest hope that by the faithful observance on all sides of the Pact so concluded the peace and prosperity of Ireland may be secured. It is in the spirit of that Settlement that I have chosen you to be the first Representative of the Crown in the Irish Free State.
With all my heart I pray that the blessing of God may rest upon you and upon the Ministers of the Irish Free State in the difficult task committed to your charge.
In the Speech itself, which was written by the
The Parliament of that portion of the Province of Ulster called Northern Ireland, taking advantage of Article 12 of the Treaty between Great Britain and Ireland, has seen fit to present an address to His Majesty, by the effect of which the powers of your Parliament and Government have ceased to extend to Northern Ireland. Accordingly it becomes the duty now of my Government to take such steps as may be necessary for constituting the Commission which is to determine in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants, so far as may be compatible with economic and geographic conditions, the boundaries between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland.
Members were also informed of forthcoming legislation that would deal with the implementation of the
After its conclusion, a motion of thanks was proposed in each House for the Governor-General's Speech. The Houses then debated in detail the full contents of the speech.
The second Address: October 1923
The second Governor-General's Address was delivered in the Dáil on 3 October 1923, shortly after the Oireachtas reconvened after the 27 August general election. The text had been distributed in advance. Its contents were discussed in detail in subsequent weeks in both Houses.
No further Governor-General's Addresses were ever given.[1]
See also
References
Texts
- 1922
- Address: Dáil debates, Vol.2 c.97–102
- Dáil debate Vol.2 c.102–6 c.168–93 c.268–90
- Seanad debate Vol.1 c.20–23
- 1923
- Address: Dáil debates, Vol.5 Appendix c.1–5
- Dáil debate Vol.5 c.151–4 c.627–60 c.749–810 c.819–884 c.885–8 c.1025–78 c.1092–1164
- Seanad debate Vol.2 c.7–8 c.11–50
Notes
- ^ a b "Addresses to the Houses of the Oireachtas 1922 – 1999". Oireachtas. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8132-0793-3.
- ^ Macardle, Dorothy (1951). The Irish Republic; a Documented Chronicle of the Anglo-Irish Conflict and the Partitioning of Ireland, with a Detailed Account of the Period 1916-1923. Éamon De Valéra (preface) (4th ed.). Dublin: Irish Press. p. 821.