[Olog-hai]

They rejected the Commonwealth (in the form of a Free State, officially a Commonwealth Dominion) in favor of being independent, in 1948. And then 24 years after that, they sold themselves to the EU.

[mlo]

"They rejected the Commonwealth (in the form of a Free State, officially a Commonwealth Dominion) in favor of being independent, in 1948. And then 24 years after that, they sold themselves to the EU."

You are doing just what I said. Ireland left the UK to be a free state. The Commonwealth is a different thing. Canada, India, Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, and many other countries are Commonwealth members.