Southern Ireland

Southern Ireland (Irish: Deisceart Éireann) was a former constituent of the United Kingdom from 3 May 1921 to 6 December 1922. It was formed when the United Kingdom passed the Fourth Home Rule Bill to partition Ireland into two self-governing territories, Northern and Southern Ireland.

Fourth Home Rule Bill
The Government of Ireland Act 1920 came into effect 3 May 1921. The Act was the Fourth Home Rule Bill, created by the United Kingdom, as "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland". It contained provisions for co-operation between the two territories and for the eventual reunification of Ireland.

However, in the 1921 Irish elections for Southern Ireland's House of Commons, Sinn Féin candidates won 124 of the 128 seats and ignored the parliament, assembling instead as the Second Dáil, Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. Continued unrest resulted in the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed in London on 6 December 1921.

The Provisional Government of Ireland administered Southern Ireland from 16 January 1922 to 5 December 1922: effectively a transitional administration for the period between the ratifying of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the establishment of the Irish Free State.

Southern Ireland, as a political entity, was superseded by the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922.