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Introduction : the Irish appeal to the Privy Council -- The appeal as a pillar of the British Empire -- The Privy Council appeal and the Irish question, 1886-1922 -- The Privy Council as arbiter and guardian of the Anglo-Irish Treaty -- Lord Cave and the early appeals -- A minority safeguard for southern Protestants? -- Failed attempts to reform or abolish the Irish appeal -- The Statute of Westminister -- De Valera and abolition of the appeal -- Conclusion

This article examines the attempts at legislation in Ireland made by an elected assembly known as 'Dáil Éireann' in the revolutionary years between 1919 and 1922. These attempts at legislation, popularly known as 'Dáil decrees', have not been published or used as sources of law since the foundation of the Irish state on 6 December 1922. This analysis builds on a pioneering article on this subject published in 1975 by Brian Farrell and attempts to provide additional information on the final fate of the Dáil decrees. The conclusion argues that the fate of this legislation was not, as has been suggested, dictated by divisions created by the Irish civil war of 1922–23. Instead, this analysis concludes that the Dáil decrees faced insuperable practical barriers that could not be overcome after the foundation of the state in 1922. ; 24 month embargo - ROR

This article assesses the value of Irish law journals as historical sources for the transition between 1916 and 1922 that saw most of the island of Ireland leave the United Kingdom. It presents these law journals as sources that have not always received the attention that they deserve from historians and political scientists. The article also uses these sources to examine the response of the Irish legal professions to the six years of revolution and upheaval. This response is interesting because the legal professions and their journals spanned the traditional nationalist/unionist divide in Irish politics. The most important source is a journal called the Irish Law Times and Solicitors' Journal (now known as simply the Irish Law Times) although other journals of lesser significance are also be considered.