First Dáil in the context of "Soloheadbeg ambush"

Dáil Éireann (/dɑːl ˈɛərən/ dahl AIR-ən; Irish: [ˌd̪ˠaːlʲ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ], lit. 'Assembly of Ireland') is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann. It consists of 174 members, each known as a Teachta Dála (plural Teachtaí Dála, commonly abbreviated as TDs). TDs represent 43 constituencies and are directly elected for terms not exceeding five years, on the system of proportional representation using the single transferable vote (PR-STV). Its powers are similar to those of lower houses under many other bicameral parliamentary systems and it is by far the dominant branch of the Oireachtas. Subject to the limits imposed by the Constitution of Ireland, it has the power to pass any law it wishes, and to nominate and remove the Taoiseach (head of government). Since 1922, it has met in Leinster House in Dublin.

The Dáil took its current form when the 1937 Constitution was adopted, but it maintains continuity with the First Dáil established in 1919.

The Irish War of Independence (Irish: Cogadh na Saoirse), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-military Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and its paramilitary forces the Auxiliaries and Ulster Special Constabulary (USC). It was part of the Irish revolutionary period.

In April 1916, Irish republicans launched the Easter Rising against British rule and proclaimed an Irish Republic. Although it was defeated after a week of fighting, the Rising and the British response led to greater popular support for Irish independence. In the December 1918 election, republican party Sinn Féin won a landslide victory in Ireland. On 21 January 1919 they formed a breakaway government (Dáil Éireann) and declared Irish independence. That day, two RIC officers were killed in the Soloheadbeg ambush by IRA volunteers acting on their own initiative. The conflict developed gradually. For most of 1919, IRA activity involved capturing weaponry and freeing republican prisoners, while the Dáil set about building a state. In September, the British government outlawed the Dáil throughout Ireland, Sinn Féin was proclaimed (outlawed) in County Cork and the conflict intensified. The IRA began ambushing RIC and British Army patrols, attacking their barracks and forcing isolated barracks to be abandoned. The British government bolstered the RIC with recruits from Britain—the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries—who became notorious for ill-discipline and reprisal attacks on civilians, some of which were authorised by the British government. Thus the conflict is sometimes called the "Black and Tan War". The conflict also involved civil disobedience, notably the refusal of Irish railwaymen to transport British forces or military supplies.

The Irish Republic (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann or Saorstát Éireann) was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by 1920 its functional control was limited to only 21 of Ireland's 32 counties, and British state forces maintained a presence across much of the north-east, as well as Cork, Dublin and other major towns. The republic was strongest in rural areas, and through its military forces was able to influence the population in urban areas that it did not directly control.

Its origins date back to the Easter Rising of 1916, when Irish republicans seized key locations in Dublin and proclaimed an Irish Republic. The rebellion was crushed, but the survivors united under a reformed Sinn Féin party to campaign for a republic. In the 1918 United Kingdom general election, the party won a clear majority of the constituencies in Ireland; in many seats Sinn Féin candidates did not face meaningful opposition. The Sinn Féin winners did not take their seats in the U.K. parliament, but instead gathered in Dublin on 21 January 1919 to form the first Dáil (legislature) of Ireland. Republicans then established a government, a court system and a police force. At the same time, the Irish Volunteers, who came under the control of the Dáil and became known as the Irish Republican Army, fought against British state forces in the Irish War of Independence.

Sinn Féin (/ʃɪn ˈfeɪn/ shin FAYN; Irish: [ˌʃɪn̠ʲ ˈfʲeːnʲ] ; lit. '[We] Ourselves') is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith. Its members founded the revolutionary Irish Republic and its parliament, the First Dáil, and many of them were active in the Irish War of Independence, during which the party was associated with the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922). The party split before the Irish Civil War and again in its aftermath, giving rise to the two traditionally dominant parties of Irish politics: Fianna Fáil, and Cumann na nGaedheal (which merged with smaller groups to form Fine Gael). For several decades the remaining Sinn Féin organisation was small and often without parliamentary representation. It continued its association with the Irish Republican Army. Another split in 1970 at the start of the Troubles led to the modern Sinn Féin party, with the other faction eventually becoming the Workers' Party.

Dáil Éireann (English: Assembly of Ireland), also called the Revolutionary Dáil, was the revolutionary, unicameral parliament of the Irish Republic from 1919 to 1922. The Dáil was first formed on 21 January 1919 in Dublin by 69 Sinn Féin MPs elected in the 1918 United Kingdom general election, who had won 73 seats of the 105 seats in Ireland, with four party candidates (Arthur Griffith, Éamon de Valera, Eoin MacNeill and Liam Mellows) elected for two constituencies. Their manifesto refused to recognise the British parliament at Westminster and instead established an independent legislature in Dublin. The convention of the First Dáil coincided with the beginning of the War of Independence.

The First Dáil was replaced by the Second Dáil in 1921. Both of these Dála existed under the proclaimed Irish Republic; it was the Second Dáil which narrowly ratified the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The status of the Third Dáil of 1922–1923 was different as it was also recognised by the British. It was elected under the terms of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty as a provisional parliament to pave the way for the creation of an independent Irish state. With the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, a new parliament called the Oireachtas was established, of which Dáil Éireann became the lower house.

The ministry of Dáil Éireann (Irish: Aireacht Dáil Éireann) was the cabinet of the 1919–1922 Irish Republic during the Irish War of Independence. The ministry was originally established by the Dáil Constitution adopted by the First Dáil on 21 January 1919, after it issued the Declaration of Independence. This constitution provided for a cabinet consisting of a head of government, known as the Príomh Aire or President of Dáil Éireann, and four other ministers. The Irish Republic modelled itself on the parliamentary system of government and so its cabinet was appointed by and answerable to the Dáil. Under the constitution the President was elected by the Dáil, while the remaining ministers were nominated by the President and then ratified by the Dáil. The Dáil could dismiss both the cabinet as a whole and individual ministers by passing a resolution. Ministers could also be dismissed by the President.

A number of changes were made to the cabinet system after its adoption in January 1919. The number of ministers was increased in April 1919. As established in 1919, the Irish Republic had no explicit head of state; in 1921 the head of the ministry was renamed as President of the Republic. For a brief period the members of this president's cabinet became known as "secretaries of state" rather than ministers. When the Fourth ministry assumed office in 1922 after the approval of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, with Arthur Griffith as its head, cabinet members were once again described as ministers and Griffith adopted the title of President of Dáil Éireann.

The Dáil Courts (also known as Republican Courts) were the judicial branch of government of the Irish Republic, which had unilaterally declared independence in 1919. They were formally established by a decree of the First Dáil on 29 June 1920, replacing more limited Arbitration Courts that had been authorised a year earlier. The Dáil Courts were an integral part of the Irish Republic's policy of undermining British rule in Ireland by establishing a monopoly on the legitimate use of force. They continued in operation until shortly into the life of the Irish Free State, which was established on 6 December 1922, after the approval of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

William Joseph Mellows (Irish: Liam Ó Maoilíosa, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Ireland, being raised in Cork, Dublin and his mother's native Wexford. He was active with the Irish Republican Brotherhood and Irish Volunteers, and participated in the Easter Rising in County Galway and the War of Independence. Elected as a TD to the First Dáil, he rejected the Anglo-Irish Treaty. During the Irish Civil War Mellows was captured by Pro-Treaty forces after the surrender of the Four Courts in June 1922. On 8 December 1922 he was one of four senior IRA men executed by the free state Government.

The Constitution of Dáil Éireann (Irish: Bunreacht Dála Éireann), more commonly known as the Dáil Constitution, was the constitution of the 1919–22 Irish Republic. It was adopted by the First Dáil at its first meeting on 21 January 1919 and remained in operation until 6 December 1922. As adopted it consisted of five articles. Article 1 declared that the Dáil had "full powers to legislate" and would consist of representatives elected in elections conducted by the British government. For the exercise of executive power it created a cabinet, answerable to the Dáil, called the Ministry (Irish: Aireacht), headed by a prime minister called the "Príomh Aire" (in practice also known as the President of Dáil Éireann). The constitution was limited to an outline of the functions of the legislature and the executive; the Dáil later established a system of Dáil Courts, but there was no provision in the constitution on a judiciary. The final article of the constitution declared that it was intended to be a provisional document, in the sense that it was subject to amendment. As adopted the constitution came to only around 370 words. In comparison, the modern Constitution of Ireland has approximately 16,000 words. Overall, the structure of the document was as follows:

• Article 1: Dáil Éireann
• Article 2: Ministry of Dáil Éireann
• Article 3: Chairman of the Dáil
• Article 4: Finance
• Article 5: Amendments