when did the republic of ireland leave the commonwealth
18 April 1949
title: Monarchy of Ireland text: 1949 was George VI, or the President, was left unclear. This ambiguity was eliminated with the enactment of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, which came into force in April 1949 and declared the state to be a republic. The External Relations Act was repealed, removing the remaining duties of the monarch, and Ireland formally withdrew from the British Commonwealth. The position of the King in the Irish state was finally and formally ended by the Oireachtas with the repeal of the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 by the Statute Law Revision (Pre-Union Irish Statutes) Act 1962. The British monarchy, title: History of the Republic of Ireland text: History of the Republic of Ireland The Irish state came into being in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion of the British Commonwealth, having seceded from the United Kingdom under the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It comprises 26 of the island of Ireland's 32 counties. The 1937 constitution renamed the state "Ireland". In 1949 it explicitly became a republic under the terms of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, definitively ending its tenuous membership of the British Commonwealth. In 1973 it joined the European Communities. From its foundation, the Irish Free State was embroiled in a civil war between nationalists title: Dominion text: August 1947. The last country officially made a Dominion was Ceylon in 1948. The term "Dominion" fell out of general use thereafter. Ireland ceased to be a member of the Commonwealth on 18 April 1949, upon the coming into force of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948. This formally signalled the end of the former dependencies' common constitutional connection to the British Crown. India also adopted a republican constitution in January 1950. Unlike many dependencies that became republics, Ireland never re-joined the Commonwealth, which agreed to accept the British monarch as head of that association of independent states. The independence title: History of the Republic of Ireland text: enacted by the Oireachtas, came into force. That legislation described Ireland as the Republic of Ireland but did not change the country's name. The international and diplomatic functions previously vested in or exercised by the king were now vested in the President of Ireland who finally became unambiguously the Irish head of state. Under the Commonwealth rules then in force, the declaration of a republic automatically terminated the state's membership of the British Commonwealth. Unlike India, which became a republic shortly afterwards, Ireland chose not to reapply for admittance to the Commonwealth. Though a republic since 1949, the Crown of title: Republic of Ireland text: head of state. For instance, the President gave assent to new laws with his own authority, without reference to King George VI who was only an "organ", that was provided for by statute law. Ireland remained neutral during World War II, a period it described as the Emergency. Ireland's link with the Commonwealth was terminated with the passage of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, which came into force on 18 April 1949 and declared that the state was a republic. At the time, a declaration of a republic terminated Commonwealth membership. This rule was changed 10 days after Ireland