Provisional Government of Ireland (1922)
The Provisional Government of Ireland () was the provisional government for the administration of Southern Ireland from 16 January 1922 to 5 December 1922. It was a transitional administration for the period between the ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the establishment of the Irish Free State. Its legitimacy was disputed by the Anti-Treaty members of Dáil Éireann. Legal formation Article 17 of the Anglo-Irish Treaty begins: On 14 January 1922 a meeting of the members elected to the House of Commons of Southern Ireland was held at the Mansion House, Dublin. At the meeting the Anglo-Irish Treaty was ratified by the Irish side in accordance with the Treaty and a Provisional Government was elected for the purposes of Article 17 of the Treaty. Michael Collins was appointed its chairman. The Provisional Government took up office two days later on 16 January 1922 when British administration handed over Dublin Castle to Collins in person. At this time, Westminster had not formally appointed the new Irish ministers or conferred their government with any powers. These gaps were addressed through the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922 of the British Parliament passed on 31 March 1922. It gave the force of law to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which was scheduled to the Act. Section 1(2) of the Act provided that for the purposes of giving effect to Article 17 of the Treaty: the British Government could by Orders in Council transfer powers to the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland; the Parliament of Southern Ireland would be dissolved within four months from the passing of the Act; and elections would be held for "the House of the Parliament" to which the Provisional Government would be responsible. The Act did not give a name to that Parliament but said that in matters within the jurisdiction of the Provisional Government (i.e. only certain matters concerning Southern Ireland), it would have power to make laws in like manner as the Parliament of the Irish Free State when constituted. By Order in Council under the Act, the British Government formally transferred powers to the Provisional Government on 1 April 1922. The relevant Order in Council signed on 1 April was the "Provisional Government (Transfer of Functions) Order, 1922". This Order passed on the full authority of the state within Southern Ireland to the Provisional Government, including, for the time being, all the laws that applied to Southern Ireland when under British rule. The Ministerial appointments became official and were announced in Iris Oifigiúil No.19 of 4 April 1922. Name The government is generally referred to simply as "the Provisional Government". It is sometimes referred to as "the Provisional Government of Ireland", or "the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State". In article 17 of the Treaty, under which it was set up, it was referred to merely as "a provisional Government", although Article 15, dealing with discussions between North and South, referred to "the provisional Government of Southern Ireland hereinafter constituted". The Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922,