<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <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> From its foundation, the Irish Free State was embroiled in a civil war between nationalists supporting the Treaty and opponents who supported a republic . The pro-Treaty side, organised as Cumann na nGaedheal emerged victorious from the conflict and won subsequent elections . They formed the government of the state until 1932, when they peacefully handed over power to the anti-Treaty faction in Fianna Fáil, who defeated them in an election . The Irish state, despite its violent beginnings, has remained a liberal democracy throughout its existence . Changes in the 1930s removed many of the links with Britain established under the Treaty and Ireland's neutrality in the Second World War demonstrated its independence in foreign policy matters from Britain . </P>

When did the irish free state become a republic