Thomas Mohr teaches jurisprudence, the law of evidence and the history of public law at the School of Law, University College Dublin. His doctorate examined the constitutional status of the Irish Free State between the years 1922 and 1937. This was an interdisciplinary work involving such fields of law as constitutional law, legal theory, public international law and legal history.
Thomas is currently engaged in a project that aims to create an archive for the storage of material relating to Irish legal history. He has recently managed to get funding for this project despite the challenges imposed by the economic recession
Thomas is Secretary of the Council of the Irish Legal History Society. He also sits on the Council of the Irish Association of Law Teachers. He is Book Review Editor of the Irish Jurist, Ireland's leading law journal. Supervisors: Prof. W.N. Osborough Phone: 00 353 1 7164145 Address: School of Law,
University College Dublin,
Belfield,
Dublin 4
George Gavan Duffy (1882–1951) was a signatory of the 1921 ‘Anglo Irish Treaty’. In the 1930s he ... more George Gavan Duffy (1882–1951) was a signatory of the 1921 ‘Anglo Irish Treaty’. In the 1930s he enjoyed a notable judicial career and would rise to the position of President of the High Court of Ireland. This article examines a more neglected period of Gavan Duffy’s career. It focuses on his brief parliamentary career as a TD in the early 1920s and, in particular, his involvement in the creation of the Constitution of the Irish Free State. This analysis also examines the reasons for the divergence of Gavan Duffy’s position from that held by other signatories and supporters of the 1921 Treaty. By late 1922 Gavan Duffy had emerged as a determined critic of the Provisional Government and of the draft Constitution of the Irish Free State that emerged from negotiations in London. This analysis focuses on Gavan Duffy’s attempts to amend provisions of the draft Constitution that he believed went further than the strict legal demands of the 1921 Treaty. The conclusion assesses Gavan Duffy’...
This article examines contemporary legal analyses of the document that is often called the “Anglo... more This article examines contemporary legal analyses of the document that is often called the “Anglo Irish Treaty”, “Articles of Agreement”, the “1921 Treaty” or most often simply “the Treaty”. It takes a comparative approach by presenting the legal arguments used by British and Irish supporters and opponents of the settlement in the early 1920s. The article explains how the relative brevity of the document signed on 6 December 1921 ensured that many aspects of the settlement were vague and ambiguous. It argues that many of the ambiguities within the Treaty were not accidental features created by poor drafting but were, in fact, essential aspects of the final settlement. This leads to a conclusion that the provisions of the Treaty were often as important for what they did not say as for what they did. This leads to the conclusion that much of the opposition to the settlement was not merely based on an obsession with symbols of sovereignty but on a desire for greater clarity in a settlement whose existence depended on deliberate opacity. Some of the ambiguities created by the Treaty settlement are largely of historical interest, for example the nature of the parliamentary oath, the meaning of Dominion status and the relationship between law and practice in Commonwealth relations. Other legal issues connected with the Treaty, for example those connected to the foundation of the Irish Free State and the position of Northern Ireland, continue to form the subject of debate in the twenty first century. This article argues that these and other legal disputes are not capable of solution as the deliberate ambiguity of the Treaty was designed to ensure that they be insoluble so that both sides could interpret the settlement according to what they wanted to see.
This article examines the relationship between Irish law and British Imperial law in the 1920s an... more This article examines the relationship between Irish law and British Imperial law in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary focus concerns the question of whether the Colonial Laws Validity Act, 1865 applied to the Irish Free State as a Dominion of the British Empire. This important piece of legislation ensured that British Imperial statutes overrode the laws of British colonies and Dominions. This article will examine the importance of the 1865 Act as a means of preventing the Irish Free State from making unilateral changes to the settlement imposed by the Anglo Irish Treaty of 1921. It will also analyse the arguments put forward by the British and Irish governments as to the relationship between Irish law and the Colonial Laws Validity Act. It will conclude by examining the changes made by the Statute of Westminster which ensured that the Irish Free State finally achieved a position of undisputed legislative sovereignty.
This article examines the political context of the new Irish coinage that was introduced in 1928.... more This article examines the political context of the new Irish coinage that was introduced in 1928. It attempts to illustrate how the coins of the Irish Free State were products of the political circumstances of their time. The article also analyses the political negotiations concerning the future of the large quantity of British coins that remained in circulation in the Irish Free State. The conclusion will argue that the Irish coins issued in 1928 were of considerable political importance as symbols of national identity visible to the general public on a daily basis. Symbols of this nature were of particular significance to the Irish Free State because its status as a sovereign state was open to dispute in the 1920s and 1930s. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 made it clear that the Irish Free State was a Dominion of the British Empire. This article will argue that the political background to the introduction of the new Irish coins reflects wider controversies that dominated Irish politics and external relations in the years between the two world wars.
It is often said that Ireland is still awaiting its Holdsworth. In fact scholars have been lament... more It is often said that Ireland is still awaiting its Holdsworth. In fact scholars have been lamenting the lack of a comprehensive legal history of Ireland long before William Searle Holdsworth wrote his monumental, if flawed, History of English Law. Calls for the creation of a comprehensive text on Ireland’s legal past have been heard since at least the 1840s. The nineteenth century historian James Hardiman exhorted future scholars by emphasising the "abundance of recorded materials" awaiting them. (Tracts Relating to Ireland, vol. ii, (Dublin 1843), p.14). Alas, much of this source material was lost forever during the Irish civil war in 1922 with the destruction of most of the legal documents stored in the Public Record Office located at Dublin’s Four Courts
The purpose of this article is to assess the value of law journals as sources for a critical peri... more The purpose of this article is to assess the value of law journals as sources for a critical period of transition in modern Irish history. This is the years between 1916 and 1922 that witnessed the secession of most of the island of Ireland from the United Kingdom. The main source for this analysis is a journal known as the Irish Law Times which, in this period, was the only major law journal in existence on the island. A number of other publications, of lesser significance as historical sources, will also be included in this analysis such as the Irish Law Society Gazette, a minor publication that was exclusively aimed at Irish solicitors. The first purpose of this article is to introduce this useful source material for the years of upheaval in Ireland between 1916 and 1922 that has not previously come under close scholarly analysis. Historians and political scientists often overlook legal source material in analyses of particular historical periods. It is hoped that this interdisci...
The enactment of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 represents one of the most significant events... more The enactment of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 represents one of the most significant events in the history of the British Empire. The very name of this historic piece of legislation, with its medieval antecedents, epitomizes a sense of enduring grandeur and dignity. The Statute of Westminster recognized significant advances in the evolution of the self-governing Dominions into fully sovereign states. The term “Dominion” was initially adopted in relation to Canada, but was extended in 1907 to refer to all self-governing colonies of white settlement that had been evolving in the direction of greater autonomy since the middle of the nineteenth century. By the early 1930s, the Dominions included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free State.
This article examines the attempts at legislation in Ireland made by an elected assembly known as... more This article examines the attempts at legislation in Ireland made by an elected assembly known as ‘Dáil Éireann’ in the revolutionary years between 1919 and 1922. These attempts at legislation, popularly known as ‘Dáil decrees’, have not been published or used as sources of law since the foundation of the Irish state on 6 December 1922. This analysis builds on a pioneering article on this subject published in 1975 by Brian Farrell and attempts to provide additional information on the final fate of the Dáil decrees. The conclusion argues that the fate of this legislation was not, as has been suggested, dictated by divisions created by the Irish civil war of 1922–23. Instead, this analysis concludes that the Dáil decrees faced insuperable practical barriers that could not be overcome after the foundation of the state in 1922.
Imperial federation was a movement in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that soug... more Imperial federation was a movement in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that sought to turn the British Empire into a global federal state. It focused on the self-governing parts of the Empire that included the United Kingdom and the Dominions of Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Newfoundland. The unofficial motto of the Imperial federalists was ‘federate or disintegrate’. Many argue that the European Union of today is facing a similar choice. This article will examine Imperial federalist proposals for constitutional reform in the legislative, executive and judicial spheres. It might be expected that the main centres of opposition to Imperial federalism lay at the peripheries of the Empire in Dominions such as South Africa and Canada. This article argues that successive governments of the United Kingdom, the mother country of the Empire, proved to be the most consistent and determined opponents of Imperial federalist initiatives. This article will examine why the government of the United Kingdom acted as the leading opponent of most federal proposals involving constitutional reform. This analysis will also assess the importance of law and popular perceptions of legal tradition in attacking federal schemes throughout the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Copyright statements lists "CUP and contributors" - current copyright transfer form req... more Copyright statements lists "CUP and contributors" - current copyright transfer form requires authors to transfer copyright to the journal but kept the statement ... - AC
I openly admit that I wrote this paper as a bit of fun. It represents a section of much more deta... more I openly admit that I wrote this paper as a bit of fun. It represents a section of much more detailed work. The paper is something of a mix of law and art history. It tries to show how something as mundane as the coins in our pockets reflect the political concerns of their time. I'm not sure how well it works but it does have some nice pictures!
George Gavan Duffy (1882–1951) was a signatory of the 1921 ‘Anglo Irish Treaty’. In the 1930s he ... more George Gavan Duffy (1882–1951) was a signatory of the 1921 ‘Anglo Irish Treaty’. In the 1930s he enjoyed a notable judicial career and would rise to the position of President of the High Court of Ireland. This article examines a more neglected period of Gavan Duffy’s career. It focuses on his brief parliamentary career as a TD in the early 1920s and, in particular, his involvement in the creation of the Constitution of the Irish Free State. This analysis also examines the reasons for the divergence of Gavan Duffy’s position from that held by other signatories and supporters of the 1921 Treaty. By late 1922 Gavan Duffy had emerged as a determined critic of the Provisional Government and of the draft Constitution of the Irish Free State that emerged from negotiations in London. This analysis focuses on Gavan Duffy’s attempts to amend provisions of the draft Constitution that he believed went further than the strict legal demands of the 1921 Treaty. The conclusion assesses Gavan Duffy’...
This article examines contemporary legal analyses of the document that is often called the “Anglo... more This article examines contemporary legal analyses of the document that is often called the “Anglo Irish Treaty”, “Articles of Agreement”, the “1921 Treaty” or most often simply “the Treaty”. It takes a comparative approach by presenting the legal arguments used by British and Irish supporters and opponents of the settlement in the early 1920s. The article explains how the relative brevity of the document signed on 6 December 1921 ensured that many aspects of the settlement were vague and ambiguous. It argues that many of the ambiguities within the Treaty were not accidental features created by poor drafting but were, in fact, essential aspects of the final settlement. This leads to a conclusion that the provisions of the Treaty were often as important for what they did not say as for what they did. This leads to the conclusion that much of the opposition to the settlement was not merely based on an obsession with symbols of sovereignty but on a desire for greater clarity in a settlement whose existence depended on deliberate opacity. Some of the ambiguities created by the Treaty settlement are largely of historical interest, for example the nature of the parliamentary oath, the meaning of Dominion status and the relationship between law and practice in Commonwealth relations. Other legal issues connected with the Treaty, for example those connected to the foundation of the Irish Free State and the position of Northern Ireland, continue to form the subject of debate in the twenty first century. This article argues that these and other legal disputes are not capable of solution as the deliberate ambiguity of the Treaty was designed to ensure that they be insoluble so that both sides could interpret the settlement according to what they wanted to see.
This article examines the relationship between Irish law and British Imperial law in the 1920s an... more This article examines the relationship between Irish law and British Imperial law in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary focus concerns the question of whether the Colonial Laws Validity Act, 1865 applied to the Irish Free State as a Dominion of the British Empire. This important piece of legislation ensured that British Imperial statutes overrode the laws of British colonies and Dominions. This article will examine the importance of the 1865 Act as a means of preventing the Irish Free State from making unilateral changes to the settlement imposed by the Anglo Irish Treaty of 1921. It will also analyse the arguments put forward by the British and Irish governments as to the relationship between Irish law and the Colonial Laws Validity Act. It will conclude by examining the changes made by the Statute of Westminster which ensured that the Irish Free State finally achieved a position of undisputed legislative sovereignty.
This article examines the political context of the new Irish coinage that was introduced in 1928.... more This article examines the political context of the new Irish coinage that was introduced in 1928. It attempts to illustrate how the coins of the Irish Free State were products of the political circumstances of their time. The article also analyses the political negotiations concerning the future of the large quantity of British coins that remained in circulation in the Irish Free State. The conclusion will argue that the Irish coins issued in 1928 were of considerable political importance as symbols of national identity visible to the general public on a daily basis. Symbols of this nature were of particular significance to the Irish Free State because its status as a sovereign state was open to dispute in the 1920s and 1930s. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 made it clear that the Irish Free State was a Dominion of the British Empire. This article will argue that the political background to the introduction of the new Irish coins reflects wider controversies that dominated Irish politics and external relations in the years between the two world wars.
It is often said that Ireland is still awaiting its Holdsworth. In fact scholars have been lament... more It is often said that Ireland is still awaiting its Holdsworth. In fact scholars have been lamenting the lack of a comprehensive legal history of Ireland long before William Searle Holdsworth wrote his monumental, if flawed, History of English Law. Calls for the creation of a comprehensive text on Ireland’s legal past have been heard since at least the 1840s. The nineteenth century historian James Hardiman exhorted future scholars by emphasising the "abundance of recorded materials" awaiting them. (Tracts Relating to Ireland, vol. ii, (Dublin 1843), p.14). Alas, much of this source material was lost forever during the Irish civil war in 1922 with the destruction of most of the legal documents stored in the Public Record Office located at Dublin’s Four Courts
The purpose of this article is to assess the value of law journals as sources for a critical peri... more The purpose of this article is to assess the value of law journals as sources for a critical period of transition in modern Irish history. This is the years between 1916 and 1922 that witnessed the secession of most of the island of Ireland from the United Kingdom. The main source for this analysis is a journal known as the Irish Law Times which, in this period, was the only major law journal in existence on the island. A number of other publications, of lesser significance as historical sources, will also be included in this analysis such as the Irish Law Society Gazette, a minor publication that was exclusively aimed at Irish solicitors. The first purpose of this article is to introduce this useful source material for the years of upheaval in Ireland between 1916 and 1922 that has not previously come under close scholarly analysis. Historians and political scientists often overlook legal source material in analyses of particular historical periods. It is hoped that this interdisci...
The enactment of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 represents one of the most significant events... more The enactment of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 represents one of the most significant events in the history of the British Empire. The very name of this historic piece of legislation, with its medieval antecedents, epitomizes a sense of enduring grandeur and dignity. The Statute of Westminster recognized significant advances in the evolution of the self-governing Dominions into fully sovereign states. The term “Dominion” was initially adopted in relation to Canada, but was extended in 1907 to refer to all self-governing colonies of white settlement that had been evolving in the direction of greater autonomy since the middle of the nineteenth century. By the early 1930s, the Dominions included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free State.
This article examines the attempts at legislation in Ireland made by an elected assembly known as... more This article examines the attempts at legislation in Ireland made by an elected assembly known as ‘Dáil Éireann’ in the revolutionary years between 1919 and 1922. These attempts at legislation, popularly known as ‘Dáil decrees’, have not been published or used as sources of law since the foundation of the Irish state on 6 December 1922. This analysis builds on a pioneering article on this subject published in 1975 by Brian Farrell and attempts to provide additional information on the final fate of the Dáil decrees. The conclusion argues that the fate of this legislation was not, as has been suggested, dictated by divisions created by the Irish civil war of 1922–23. Instead, this analysis concludes that the Dáil decrees faced insuperable practical barriers that could not be overcome after the foundation of the state in 1922.
Imperial federation was a movement in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that soug... more Imperial federation was a movement in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that sought to turn the British Empire into a global federal state. It focused on the self-governing parts of the Empire that included the United Kingdom and the Dominions of Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Newfoundland. The unofficial motto of the Imperial federalists was ‘federate or disintegrate’. Many argue that the European Union of today is facing a similar choice. This article will examine Imperial federalist proposals for constitutional reform in the legislative, executive and judicial spheres. It might be expected that the main centres of opposition to Imperial federalism lay at the peripheries of the Empire in Dominions such as South Africa and Canada. This article argues that successive governments of the United Kingdom, the mother country of the Empire, proved to be the most consistent and determined opponents of Imperial federalist initiatives. This article will examine why the government of the United Kingdom acted as the leading opponent of most federal proposals involving constitutional reform. This analysis will also assess the importance of law and popular perceptions of legal tradition in attacking federal schemes throughout the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Copyright statements lists "CUP and contributors" - current copyright transfer form req... more Copyright statements lists "CUP and contributors" - current copyright transfer form requires authors to transfer copyright to the journal but kept the statement ... - AC
I openly admit that I wrote this paper as a bit of fun. It represents a section of much more deta... more I openly admit that I wrote this paper as a bit of fun. It represents a section of much more detailed work. The paper is something of a mix of law and art history. It tries to show how something as mundane as the coins in our pockets reflect the political concerns of their time. I'm not sure how well it works but it does have some nice pictures!
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