<P> 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 , definitively ending its tenuous membership of the British Commonwealth . In 1973 it joined the European Communities . </P>
<P> 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 , definitively ending its tenuous membership of the British Commonwealth . In 1973 it joined the European Communities . </P>
when did the irish free state become a republic
when did the irish free state become a republic
1949
1949