Irish head of state from 1936 to 1949

During the period from December 1936 to April 1949, some commentators consider that it was unclear whether or not the Irish state was a republic or a form of constitutional monarchy and (from 1937) whether its head of state was the President of Ireland or King George VI. The exact constitutional status of the state during this period has been a matter of scholarly and political dispute. The Oireachtas removed all references to the monarch from the revised constitution in 1936, but the republic was not explicitly declared until 1949.

The state known today as Ireland is the successor-state to the Irish Free State which was established in December 1922. The Free State was governed, until at least 1936, under a form of constitutional monarchy. Under the Free State's constitution the King had a number of nominal duties, including exercising the executive authority of the state, appointing the cabinet and promulgating the law. However, all of these were delegated to the Governor-General of the Irish Free State, and in 1927 the King's title within Great Britain and Northern Ireland was changed by proclamation under the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act passed by the Westminster Parliament to "George V, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India".

In January 1936, George V died and was succeeded by his eldest son, who became Edward VIII. The new King's reign lasted only eleven months, and he abdicated in December of that year and was succeeded by his brother Prince Albert, Duke of York, who took the name George VI. The parliaments of independent members of the Commonwealth were required to ratify this change in monarch, and the pro-republican government decided to use this opportunity to drastically change the constitution.

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