Declaration of the Republic

1949 — The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 came into force, declaring Ireland a republic and formally ending its membership of the British Commonwealth.

On Easter Monday, 1949, the Republic of Ireland Act came into force. This act declared that the description of the state was the "Republic of Ireland" and transferred the few remaining powers of the British monarch (mostly regarding external relations) to the President of Ireland.

This move automatically ended Ireland's membership of the British Commonwealth. It was a final, formal assertion of total sovereignty, completing the journey begun in 1916. The event was celebrated with a 21-gun salute on O'Connell Bridge in Dublin.

While it clarified Ireland's status internationally, it also hardened the partition with Northern Ireland, as the UK government passed the Ireland Act 1949, guaranteeing that Northern Ireland would remain part of the UK as long as its parliament desired.