The Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) Bill was introduced into Dáil Éireann in September 1922, (the Dáil sitting as a ‘Constituent Assembly’) and was enacted on 25 October 1922. Article 83 of the Constitution provided that:

‘The passing and adoption of this Constitution by the Constituent Assembly and the British Parliament shall be announced as soon as may be, and not later than the sixth day of December, Nineteen hundred and twenty-two, by Proclamation of His Majesty, and this Constitution shall come into operation on the issue of such Proclamation.’

The Irish Free State therefore came into existence when its constitution became law on 6 December 1922.