Events from the year 1949 in Ireland. Incumbents President: Seán T. O'Kelly Taoiseach: John A. Costello (FG) Tánaiste: William Norton (Lab) Minister for Finance: Patrick McGilligan (FG) Chief Justice: Conor Maguire Dáil: 13th Seanad: 6th Events 22 March – the Irish Government leases a residence in the Phoenix Park to the United States government for a period of 99 years. It will be the residence of the U.S. ambassador. 17 April – at midnight 26 counties officially leave the British Commonwealth under terms of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948. A 21-gun salute on O'Connell Bridge, Dublin, ushers in the Republic of Ireland. 29 April – Major de Courcy Wheeler, the man who accepted the surrender of Patrick Pearse in 1916, presents President Seán T. O'Kelly with Pearse's revolver at a special function at Áras an Uachtaráin. 3 May – the Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Ireland Act guaranteeing the position of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom as long as a majority of its citizens want it to be. The government also recognises the existence of the Republic of Ireland. 10 May – the Oireachtas motion calls a "Protest Against Partition" because of the UK's Ireland Act provisions. 13 May – John A. Costello, Éamon de Valera, William Norton and Seán MacBride share a platform to protest the British government's attitude to the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. 25 May – Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and The Duke of Edinburgh receive the freedom of Belfast during a visit to the city. 26 June – 80,000 people gather in Croke Park to affirm the pledge as members of the teetotal Pioneer Total Abstinence Society. 9 July – the last tram runs from Nelson Pillar to Blackrock and will be the last tram run in Dublin until the Luas. 12 July – Douglas Hyde, first President of Ireland and founder of the Gaelic League, dies in Dublin aged 89. 24 August – Tánaiste William Norton tells the European Consultative Assembly in Strasbourg that Ireland would not agree to a customs union of western European states. 8 November – street names in any language other than English are prohibited by an Amendment to a Bill passed in the Senate of Northern Ireland. 20 November – students and academic staff celebrate the centenary of University College Galway. The Electricity Supply Board completes its Liffey scheme, providing hydroelectricity