The Civil War, the Constitution and the Collapse of the Rule of Law

The autumn of 1922 witnessed two momentous and contradictory events. The first was the creation of the Irish Free State Constitution which guaranteed liberty, freedom of religion, expression and association. It also guaranteed what we now recognise as the rule of law: universal suffrage, separation of powers between the judiciary and government and trial by due process of law. The second event was the implementation of the execution policy which would result in 83 executions for carrying arms and/or attacking the National Army. The policy was not the product of legislation or other process of law, and after the war, the government passed an Act of Indemnity to protect those who had taken part in military courts. It did not render legal what was done, but it prevented any prosecutions and litigation. A century later provides an opportunity to re-assess and reconcile those two events.