Original: However it had no real authority and was a pale shadow of the republican DÃ il government of 1919 â "21, which had provided an alternative government to the British administration.
Simplified: de Valera formed a republican government on 25 October 1922 but it had no real authority and was never like the DÃ il governments of 1919 â "21, which was an alternative government to the British, even running their own courts.