Brexiteers like to point out that Ireland broke the 1922 Anglo-Irish Treaty by progressively "disapplying" some of its provisions, leading to the Anglo-Irish economic war of 1932-38 and full independence in 1949. The UK never quite forgave Ireland for not joining them in WWII and many still can't understand why Ireland isn't leaving the EU with the UK.

However since the 1922 Act was effectively imposed on Ireland by the imperial power and resulted in a civil war, it is hardly surprising that Ireland gradually resiled from it as circumstances allowed. The changes in Ireland's constitutional status were also subsequently regularised and recognised by acts of the UK parliament.

Comparing Ireland leaving the British empire with the UK leaving the EU is an old Brexiteer trope casting the UK as the underdog fighting an evil empire. No doubt the Commission is seeking to draw attention to the fact that the UK government agreed to binding adjudication by the ECJ in the Withdrawal Treaty, but I cannot see it as an effective remedy.

Index of Frank's Diaries