On January 7, 1922, Dáil Éireann ratified the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Signed on December 6 of the preceding year, the treaty ended the Irish War of Independence against Great Britain. The British Parliament voted to approve the treaty on December 16, 1921. Ratification was completed on January 14, 1922, when the House of Commons of Southern Ireland became the third and final party to approve the document.
The Anglo-Irish treaty effectively split the island into its current state. While the lower counties of Ireland were granted autonomy under the treaty, Britain insisted that the six Protestant counties of Northern Ireland be allowed to determine their own future. On the day after the treaty was signed, these counties elected to remain part of Great Britain. Today, they remain part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
