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They were among the tens of thousands of troops from the UK and the Irish Free State who formed part of the world’s largest sea and air invasion.

In the Irish Free State, the King remained sovereign and parliamentarians had to take an oath of allegiance to him, but the ties with London were radically loosened by the 1921 treaty.

It is 100 years since the creation of the 26-county Irish Free State.

The first day of the Irish Free State was 6 December 1922.

Although it was part of the part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland had the option in December 1922 of becoming part of the Irish Free State.