Governor-General of the Irish Free State

Governor-General of the Irish Free State Seanascal Shaorstát Éireann
Great Seal of the Irish Free State
Style	His Excellency
Residence	Viceregal Lodge
Appointer	Monarch of the Irish Free State: George V (1922–36) Edward VIII (1936)
Precursor	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Formation	6 December 1922
First holder	Tim Healy
Final holder	Domhnall Ua Buachalla
Abolished	11 December 1936
Succession	Executive Council of the Irish Free State[1]

The governor-general of the Irish Free State (Irish: Seanascal Shaorstát Éireann) was the official representative of the sovereign of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1936. By convention, the office was largely ceremonial. Nonetheless, it was controversial, as many Irish Nationalists regarded the existence of the office as offensive to republican principles and a symbol of continued British involvement in Irish affairs, despite the Governor-General having no connection to the British Government after 1931. For this reason, the office's role was diminished over time by the Irish Government.

The 1931 enactment in London of the Statute of Westminster gave the Irish Free State full legislative independence. However, the Irish considered that full legislative independence had been achieved in 1922. The role of Governor-General in the Irish Free State was removed from the Constitution on 11 December 1936,^[2] at the time of Edward VIII's abdication as king of the United Kingdom and all the Dominions.