On that occasion the British government was alleging treaty-breaking by Éamon de Valera’s Irish government. This led to an economic war from which de Valera emerged triumphant and almost unassailable as our national leader. This precipitated an economic war between the two countries; the Irish slogan was “burn everything British except coal”. De Valera had a legal opinion signed by eminent barristers, most but not all of whom were political followers, stating that the agreements were not legally binding. While stating reverently that Ireland accepts the generally recognised principles of international law as its rule of conduct in relations with other states, the Constitution has safeguards regulating adherence by governments to international agreements.

Source: The Irish Times September 14, 2020 13:55 UTC