Irish Free State

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/irish-free-state

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the official name?Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann)
2. What is the dates of existence?December 6, 1922 – December 29, 1937
3. What was the Irish Free State and when did it start?The Irish Free State began on December 6, 1922 after the Anglo‑Irish Treaty. It gave Ireland its own rules while still being part of the British Empire.
4. Why did the Irish Civil War happen?The Civil War started because the treaty was very divisive. Some people wanted full independence and fought the pro‑Treaty government.

Anglo-Irish Treaty: The 1921 agreement that concluded the Irish War of Independence and established the Irish Free State as a dominion.
Irish Civil War: A brutal conflict (1922-1923) between pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty factions over the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
Statute of Westminster: A 1931 British Act that granted legislative autonomy to the dominions, including the Irish Free State.
Oath of Allegiance: A pledge of loyalty to the British monarch required of members of the Oireachtas, which was a major point of contention.