What if the new Ireland of 1922 had loosened its ties with Rome?

Any hint in the Free State constitution of 1922 of separation from the Church would have angered Pope Pius XI.  Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

In the 15 days between the death of Pope Benedict XV on January 22, 1922 and the election of his successor, Pius XI, on February 6, momentous things happened in Ireland.

Six days before the pope's death, the British had surrendered Dublin Castle to Michael Collins, and before the conclave had opened in Rome (it was held from February 2-6), a provisional government had been established, and Collins had convened a committee to draft a constitution for the nascent Irish Free State.