Government of the 2nd Dáil in the context of "Michael Collins (Irish leader)"

The Irish Free State (6 December 1922 – 29 December 1937), also known by its Irish name Saorstát Éireann (English: /ˌsɛərstɑːt ˈɛərən/ SAIR-staht AIR-ən, Irish: [ˈsˠiːɾˠsˠt̪ˠaːt̪ˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ]), was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the forces of the Irish Republic—the Irish Republican Army (IRA)—and British Crown forces.

The Free State was established as a dominion of the British Empire. It comprised 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland. Northern Ireland, which was made up of the remaining six counties, exercised its right under the Treaty to opt out of the new state. The Irish Free State government consisted of the governor-general—the viceregal representative of the King—and the Executive Council (cabinet), which replaced both the revolutionary Dáil Government and the Provisional Government set up under the Treaty. W. T. Cosgrave, who had led both of these administrations since August 1922, became the first president of the Executive Council (prime minister). The Oireachtas or legislature consisted of Dáil Éireann (the lower house) and Seanad Éireann (the upper house), also known as the Senate. Members of the Dáil were required to take an Oath of Allegiance to the Constitution of the Free State and to declare fidelity to the King. The oath was a key issue for opponents of the Treaty, who refused to take it and therefore did not take their seats. Pro-Treaty members, who formed Cumann na nGaedheal in 1923, held an effective majority in the Dáil from 1922 to 1927 and thereafter ruled as a minority government until 1932.

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.