Oireachtas of the Irish Free State

The Oireachtas of the Irish Free State was the legislature of the Irish Free State from 1922 until 1937. It was established by the 1922 Constitution of Ireland which was based from the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was the first independent Irish Parliament officially recognised outside Ireland since the historic Parliament of Ireland which was abolished with the Act of Union in 1800.The Parliament was bicameral, consisting of Dáil Éireann with 153 seats and Seanad Éireann with 60 seats, until the abolition of the Senate on 29 May 1936. From then until its abolition the Parliament was unicameral. The King, who was officially represented by the Governor-General, was also a constituent part of the Oireachtas. The Oireachtas of the Irish Free State were disbanded by the 1937 Constitution of Ireland which created the modern Oireachtas Éireann.Like the modern Oireachtas, the Free State legislature was dominated by the powerful, directly elected Dáil. Unlike the modern organ, the Free State Oireachtas had authority to amend the constitution as it saw fit, without recourse to a referendum. During the Free State it was also the Oireachtas as a whole, rather than the Dáil, that had authority to commit the state to war, although this distinction was not significant in practice.