Last ‘King of Ireland’ caused a war

Gerard Howlin (Opinion, April 9) writes: “Until Bunreacht na hÉireann established the office of President of Ireland, and Douglas Hyde was elected to it in 1938, the King of England was head of state in Ireland.”

I am in awe of that sentence as setting some sort of record of, while being correct as far as it goes, leaving enough for an entire book about what it manages to omit. But I only have your Letters page.

First, the fact that “the King of England was head of state in Ireland” caused the Civil War in Ireland. The Anti-Treaty side was vehemently opposed to the fact that, among other things, the King would have to approve formally Acts passed by the Dáil, just as he did those passed by the Houses of Parliament. In theory his witholding of such consent would mean, in effect, Britain still ruled Ireland.