After more than a century of political and economic integration, Southern Ireland exited the United Kingdom in 1922. By identifying the leading business firms of the era and the political and religious allegiances of their owners, this paper explores the perspective of the Southern Irish business establishment on the issues involved. While the mass of the population was Catholic and by 1918 favored secession, the business elite is shown to have been predominantly Protestant and strongly supportive of continued integration. Business elite perceptions of the consequences of exiting the United Kingdom are explored, and post-independence economic and business developments assessed in light of the concerns expressed at the time. The paper also charts the post-independence fate of the leading former unionist firms and the erosion and eventual disappearance of the sectarian divisions then prevalent in Irish business life.

经过一个多世纪的政治和经济一体化，南爱尔兰于 1922 年退出英国。通过确定那个时代的领先商业公司及其所有者的政治和宗教忠诚，本文探讨了南爱尔兰商业机构的观点关于所涉及的问题。虽然大部分人口是天主教徒并且到 1918 年支持分离，但商业精英被证明主要是新教徒并强烈支持继续融合。探讨了商业精英对退出英国后果的看法，并根据当时表达的担忧评估了独立后的经济和商业发展。