Foreword by Mr Justice Gerard HoganIntroduction1. The Constitution Committee and the beginning of the drafting process 2. The drafts 3. Consideration by the government of the three drafts 4. British reaction to the draft constitution 5. Debates in the constituent assembly 6. Themes and influences 7. The people's constitution 8. Anti-party politics 9. The legacy of the Irish Free State Constitution Conclusion Index

This book challenges the myths surrounding the Irish Free Constitution by analysing the document in its proper historical context, looking at how it was drafted in order to elucidate its true signification. The author examines the reasons why the Constitution did not function as anticipated, and investigates whether its failures can be attributed to errors of judgement in the drafting process or to the treatment of the document and subsequent events.As well as giving a comprehensive account of the drafting stages and an analysis of the three alternative drafts, the author considers the intellectual influences behind the Constitution and the central themes of the document. With the benefit of hindsight and the substantial archival material now available, this analysis of the Irish Free Constitution provides a fresh look at an historic document from a legal perspective. Given the fact that the current Constitution substantially reproduces much of the 1922 text, the work will be of interest to modern constitutional scholars as well as legal historians and anyone with an interest in the creation of the Irish State.