History Glossary
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Four Courts
a magnificent 18th century building in Dublin which has long been the centre of justice in Ireland. In the spring of 1922 it was seized by members of the IRA opposed to the 1921 Treaty. The Irish Civil War began in June 1922 when the National Army (the pro-Treaty forces) began bombarding the building.
Free State
the term often used to describe the Irish Free State, created in 1921, which contained 26 counties and was a Dominion of the British Empire. De Valera ended links with the empire in 1937 and renamed the state as Éire in 1937. Éire became a republic in 1949.