The Irish Free State was a dominion of the United Kingdom's Commonwealth which existed from 1922 to 1937, coming into existence after the Irish War of Independence. 26 of Ireland's 32 counties were ruled by the Free State, while the remaining six counties remained under British rule as "Northern Ireland". Under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, both the Irish Republican Army rebels and the pro-British government would share power, but the Irish National Army and the anti-treaty IRA fought each other in the Irish Civil War until 1923. Sinn Fein refused to take part in the politics of the British puppet state, and Eamon de Valera's Fianna Fail party would win elections and draft a new constitution in 1937 that led to full independence from Britain.
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Location of Ireland