Southern Ireland (Deisceart Éireann) was the short lived autonomous region (or constituent country) of the United Kingdom established on 3 May 1921 and dissolved on 6 December 1922.
Southern Ireland was established under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 together with its sister region, Northern Ireland. It was envisaged that Southern Ireland would have the following institutions:
It was also envisaged that Southern Ireland would share the following institutions with Northern Ireland:
The Parliament, although legally established, never functioned (for example, it never passed an Act). No Government of Southern Ireland was ever established either. The Council of Ireland was to be established "[w]ith a view to the eventual establishment of a Parliament for the whole of Ireland". However, it never came into being. The notable exception to the failure of the institutions of Southern Ireland was its courts, all of which functioned. Nevertheless given that its most important institutions failed, arguably the autonomous region never achieved de facto existence.
